Axiomatic
by am1thirteen
Summary: A sequel to Heels Over Head. Becoming aware of his newfound feelings, Yuuri starts to strike for his favorite subordinate's love. ConradYuuri. Last Chapter: Ivy Fidelity.
1. Chapter 1

AXIOMATIC 

_A Sequel to Heels Over Head_

_**Chapter One – Princess Charming and Stupid Masochist**_

A **ConYuu** Fan-fiction

By: **Ami**

Beta-reader: **ProudSnapist** a.k.a **Sherlockian Slytherin**

Alternate Universe, no spoilers (so far)

**Warning**: This fic will be severely confusing if you haven't read **Heels Over Head.** Kinda like HOH's 15th chapter with a new title actually.

_Specially dedicated to_: **Prosopopeia**, a lovely friend who listens to my rants, tells me the things I need to hear, and writes a wonderful Kakairu fic that makes me the happiest yaoi-addict. '**The Esoteric'** next chapter, please? –glittering puppy eyes-

Standard disclaimers apply.

XXX

Life in Fairy World was actually not very different from ours. They had families; we also had families. They worked for a living; we also worked for a living. They loved their pets just like we did; in that same way we rush home to see our beloved poodles again. At first glance, there was almost no difference at all, except for the fact that there were some things that could make them feel ultimately jealous of us, just as we envied their everlasting lifespan, or their traffic-jam-free lifestyle.

One of those things that fairies seemed to envy was the permanent figure that was given to each of us at birth. Actually, they had the advantage of being able to choose whose figure to imitate, but most of them seemed to hate the ability. They wanted to be themselves and not just an imitation!

The other was the fact that they existed merely to work for us. And last, but not least…

"Finally," _Murata's_ eyes glinted as he glanced at the calendar on the wall. Behind him, a sleepy-looking _Wolfram_ came out from his room, yawning loudly as he stretched his pitch-black wings, randomly knocking down the unfortunate furniture around him. His parents had seemingly given up on the idea of trying to discipline Wolfram's messiness. Besides, he had just returned home after years of absence. They didn't want to lose him again, even if it meant that they were keeping an evil wolf in their previously peaceful lair.

"That 'Wolfram' figure seems to be your favorite, I see."

That statement had seemed to bring him to full-consciousness. With a faint blush on his cheeks, he approached his smiling stepbrother and turned his eyes to the calendar, or rather, to whatever thing his brother had himself been occupied with before. It still looked like their usual, stupid, boring wall-calendar to him. He always thought that the numbers were too small to read. Oh, damn frail eyes. They were just getting worse each year.

"When are you going to change that awful appearance, anyway?" He spoke back as soon as he found something to insult his brother back with. Well, actually, that retort wasn't exactly a good choice, since so far, Murata Ken's figure had been Wolfram's favorite look on him. It fitted his brother's tricky personality very well.

"Hmm… not so soon, I think. I'm not bored with it yet." As usual, Wolfram never succeeded in provoking his brother in to a serious argument. And he didn't think that anyone could.

"Why are you still here, anyway? You're late for work." His fiery red eyes fell on the digital watch on his left wrist. It was one of the reasons why he had chosen to become an executor fairy instead of a dream one: his work started at two in the afternoon, which was three more hours to go.

"I don't have work. Neither do you." Murata replied lightly as he made his way to the dining room, preparing a late breakfast for his little brother. Wolfram trailed his steps from behind.

"What do you mean?" The blond asked as he flopped down on his seat, yawning once more while Murata set his breakfast in front of him. The sight of his brother's handmade pancakes was enough to make his stomach grumble. To think about it, Murata's cooking skill was a lot better than his father's—or Murata's mother's.

"Father always calls you a workaholic. Now I see his point." Murata only smiled lightly as he poured down a generous amount of strawberry-flavored syrup on his freshly baked pancakes. He and Wolfram's—_their_ father were the only living beings who knew about the boy's ultimate sweet tooth. "You don't even try to remember the date of your own holiday."

Wolfram glanced down at his breakfast and didn't seem to care about anything else other than the alluring object in front of him. It took him one bite and a short while to digest his brother's previous remark.

"…Holiday?" He blinked, as realization dawned on him. "…That stupid, pointless, boring, long vacation?"

Murata sighed and smiled teasingly, "Ck… ck… That's not how little boys should react to that sacred word."

"I am not a little boy!"

"Want more syrup on your pancakes?"

"Yes!"

The older fairy smiled victoriously, while the younger one flushed bright red. Oh, it was just the family Murata had always been longing for. Although their parents were mostly out at work, his little stepbrother alone was enough to make him feel homey.

"I'm sure that you find the holiday boring because you don't know how to spend it." Murata cheerfully handed the pancakes back to his embarrassed little brother, "My holiday also starts today. Unlike you, I've thought of an interesting activity, for both of us if you'll keep me company."

Wolfram's mind had been frantically screaming a repeated 'YES!' even before Murata had finished his sentence. But he managed to keep his facial muscles from twitching in excitement and asked casually, "What is it going to be? I'm not going if it sounds boring."

Murata only smiled.

XXX

By the time he opened his eyes and saw the bright daylight from outside of his window, Conrad knew that something special was going to happen that day. It began when he was getting dressed; he was able to click his belt up on the very first try. Great, another good sign it was going to be a good day. But the best was yet to come.

It was probably the strongest positive feeling when he saw Yuuri right after exiting his room.

Trying not to think that the young king had been waiting there for him, he deftly put on his usual courteous smile and greeted him good morning. It took a while before Yuuri's stammering reply rang in his grateful ears. Boy, the demon king looked ten times cuter with that faint blush on his cheeks, making it extremely hard for him to keep his hands to himself. It was definitely the best sign of the day.

Silently praying that Yuuri would not notice why he had his fists clenched, he went on with his usual polite mode and asked the boy how and why he had gotten there so early in the morning. Yuuri's reply sounded distorted in the beginning, but fortunately, the words were becoming more coherent nearing the end.

"…So, I thought… I'd come to pick you up today since the meeting place was changed to the main hall for this morning."

Conrad nodded, not showing any of his bafflement. At least, he had gotten Yuuri's point. Barely. He was not sure how to reply.

"I understand," _Cliché, but safe,_ "Let's do it then." _Do what?_

He held back a relieved sigh as Yuuri turned around and started walking. Assuming that the king was going to lead him somewhere, he followed. I mean, literally trailing Yuuri's steps, and he somehow never "managed" to reach the annoyed boy's side. He had been experimenting with this newfound habit for almost a week, but it never bored him to try it, again and again; just like the way he always called Yuuri 'His Majesty' instead of how Yuuri insisted Conrad should call him. It was a small indulgence, but it made him feel cared for when Yuuri scolded him for not being obedient. Somehow, he could hear Yozak's loud 'masochist!' from behind his back.

"Come on," the king frowned at him, "Does it hurt that much to walk beside me?"

There it was. That was the feeling.

Not wanting to upset him more, Conrad nodded and stepped up to Yuuri's side, returning his sated smile as they started to make their way to who-knows-where.

Most of the time during their short trip, Yuuri was quiet. Sometimes he could catch him stealing glances at him, before quickly turning away in embarrassment. Conrad wasn't exactly sure how to react to Yuuri's odd behavior, even while his heart palpitated at dangerous speeds at the attention Yuuri was giving him.

Conrad tried to hold his happiness in and keep up his impassive face. But heartbeats could never lie, nor could genuine feelings.

Trying to ignore his tightening chest, the man turned his eyes to his side and saw the freshly built garden. Nearly all the people in the castle had acknowledged Yuuri's recent fondness of flowers, and they took it quite well. Soon, nearly all the empty fields around the castle were filled with flowers. Cheri was, of course, the most excited one about the 'romantic' idea, even more than Yuuri himself. She, who usually spent a lot of time abroad seeking for love, had chosen to stay for a little while longer until all the flowers bloomed.

"Do you like the flowers?"

Yuuri's question brought him back to his senses. He soon realized that he had stopped walking to stare at the garden. Multitasking was not his thing, he guessed.

_One job at one time,_ he turned his eyes to the king and smiled, _one love for one life._

"Wait there, I'll get some for you."

Before Conrad had a chance to stop him, Yuuri jumped past the hedge to the garden, standing in front of it for a moment to choose, before running back with a handful of various-colored flowers in his hand.

"There!" He grinned cheerily as he handed those flowers over to the astounded man, "I don't know which you liked, so I got one of each type. You can place it in your room later."

Conrad only smiled as the familiar pain in his chest returned. Then he realized that it came from his forefinger. Some of the flowers had thorns. He only watched it lifelessly as the thick red blood started to flow down the tip of his right-hand forefinger. Yuuri's frantic gasp could not reach him; nothing could.

Perfect. It was just the perfect punishment for getting carried away. How he wished that the blood could wash his sins off.

Perhaps Yozak was right about calling him a masochist.

With a gentle smile and a pat on the king's shoulder, it didn't take very long for him to reassure Yuuri that he was going to be all right.

XXX

In the main hall, everyone had gathered, including the semi-awake Wolfram who was starting to doze off in his seat. Conrad had to fight a smile as Yuuri carefully approached the blond and pressed his thumb and forefinger on his younger brother's nose, closing his air circulation, which soon resulted a blue, awake, and angered Wolfram.

He gave in to his feelings when he watched the others laugh at the silly quarrel. A chuckle successfully escaped from his lips.

"He started it!" Wolfram retorted when Gwendal told him to stop chasing after their king. One stern look from the eldest of the brothers finally silenced him. Throwing the grinning king one of his infamous death glares, Wolfram retreated to his seat.

After confirming that everyone was ready, Gunter stepped up to the podium, with his assistant following him from behind with a stack of documents. Yuuri moaned at the sight and hoped that the meeting would not make him skip breakfast. His earlier bickering with Wolfram made him feel even hungrier than before.

"Don't worry,"

Yuuri's previously pale face started to color as he looked up and saw Conrad's smiling face.

"It won't take very long."

Another accurate mind reading. Yuuri's blush deepened. With that malicious ability, the man had definitely known... about... his...

"Today, we can start this good day off with some good news." Gunter's cheerful voice snapped the king out of his thoughts. Conrad's eyes were also quickly averted to the front, only that there was one big difference with his and Yuuri's reasons. Yuuri reacted at the 'good news' part, while he appreciated the 'good day' part. Somehow, the phrase intrigued him. Somehow.

"We have patched up our broken treaty with the Geinzers Clan." Gunter's eyes glittered as he spoke, as if he had just gained his first official halo above his head, "During our most recent meeting, they agreed to join our alliance and help us in our time of need should we require assistance." Yuuri was starting to regret how he always just signed whatever documents Gunter told him to sign without really listening all too closely what the documents were about.

All the people in the room, other than the still-clueless Yuuri, looked positive about the news. Gunter especially looked quite happy to spring this surprise on his beloved Heika, seeing as how everyone knew Yuuri liked festivals.

Conrad, being the only one who noticed Yuuri's puzzlement, volunteered to explain.

"Geinzers Clan rules a small, but well-developed nation near Shin Makoku." He started, "Many years ago, they were a part of Shin Makoku. After years of struggle, we finally let them go to liberate themselves. They were not our enemies, but not exactly our allies either. In the past, they refused to affiliate with us as a neighboring nation, thinking that we might have been trying to get them back."

Yuuri nodded, starting to get the whole picture.

"Losing Geinzers was one of our biggest mistakes, since Geinzers had many potential fighters and scientists that would have been able to help us in developing our country. Having both strength and brains, even now, they are well-known as the richest, and also the most powerful human resources throughout the world."

"Superhumans!" Yuuri could not hold back his amazed gasp this time, "I can't wait to see them!"

"However," Conrad held back an amused smile as he continued, "Nobody's perfect. They have one incurably big flaw that eventually draws them closer and closer to us."

"What is it?"

Conrad only smiled. So were the other people his black orbs fell on.

Yuuri was getting even more baffled.

"You'll know once you see them," Wolfram smirked evilly, "I'm SO going to enjoy their visit."

"They're visiting us?" Yuuri turned back to Gunter, who quickly turned his eyes back to his document.

"Yes. Their officials are scheduled to come to this castle next month. Preparing to welcome them is the main subject of our meeting today." Gunter studied his document carefully before resuming, "We have several choices. First, a festival at the town…"

Conrad once more pitied Yuuri for being the only confused one in the room. It was what he deserved for not studying his history textbooks well.

"…A noble party at the castle…"

Wolfram stole another glance at the blinking king and smirked.

"…And…"

"Wait a minute," Yuuri could no longer contain his curiosity, "They're _all_ parties! Isn't it supposed to be a boring official visit? What exactly are we trying to do? Coax them in to coming back to us with _sake_, _geisha_ and _sushi_?"

All the people in the room turned their eyes at him in both puzzlement and amusement, while Conrad was clutching his stomach, chuckling uncontrollably at another one of the king's stupid antics. Nevertheless, that was one of the things that made King Shibuya Yuuri special.

"Schmoozing is the very last thing in our minds at this moment, Yuuri." The brunet explained after managing his breaths, "We're doing that, simply because parties are the only things Geinzers enjoy."

"What?" Yuuri glanced at him in disbelief, "But aren't they strong geniuses…"

"Geinzers party on a _daily_ basis to relieve themselves from stress." Gwendal added, "They even celebrate the date of their birthdays in every month. Therefore, a big party is the best thing we can present to them during their first visit."

"I understand…" But Yuuri's expression didn't really match his words, "So, what party are we going to hold for them?"

"I think a town festival will be more enjoyable for them. Besides, I think they'll like the atmosphere better." Cheri suggested, "What do you think, Anissina?"

"I also don't think that an official noble party is enjoyable." The red-haired lady replied, "They'll enjoy a town festival more."

"There is not enough time to prepare a festival." Gwendal seemed to oppose the idea, "It will also be more difficult to secure the party. Most of all, I'm concerned about His Majesty's safety. He will definitely roam around and forget everything about his safety during the festival."

Yuuri pouted. Of course he would! He didn't want to stay alone in his room while the others were having fun at a big town festival!

"I have a suggestion."

Conrad looked around and sweat-dropped. He knew that he was usually the most silent one in meetings, but they didn't have to give him that 'what possessed you?' look. They definitely forgot that when it came to their baby king, he would not be able to refrain from speaking out.

"How about mixing both choices?"

Their stares still remained on the smiling brunet's face, but now, with varying degrees of expression. Gunter and Gwendal's were burning an imaginary hole into Conrad's forehead. Wolfram made a thinking face and showed no reaction. Cheri's was sweet and proud, while Anissina's… was as impassive as usual.

The loudest reaction came from their demon king. His dark eyes glimmered as if he had just scored a homerun for his team. This time, it had nothing to do with his infatuation. He really thought that it was a brilliant idea, coming from the most brilliant thinker in the world.

"That's it!" The king exclaimed in joy, "We can mix it! Nobles and common people together in one big party…"

"NO!" Gwendal's tone was cold and final, "We can't do something like that."

Yuuri's frown almost equaled his, "Are you trying to say that those nobles are going to refuse to mix with common people?"

"Exactly," the dark-haired mazoku remarked, "They definitely won't attend such a party."

"Screw them!" The king retorted, "If they don't want to come, then don't come! I don't need stupid arrogant-heads at my party!"

"The fact is," Gunter's voice was slightly calmer than Gwendal's, "we need to show them the importance of this party. Or the Geinzers will think that we're not taking them seriously."

"Common people are not less important than those bigheaded jerks!" Yuuri spat, "Besides, even if they refuse to come, I will be there to greet them personally. Doesn't that give it enough importance?"

This time, nobody was able to cross the infuriated king. Gwendal knew that he was supposed to oppose his king's every stupid idea, but he couldn't bring himself to do it this time. Not when Cheri and Conrad seemed to show full-support to the seemingly ridiculous idea. Besides, he had to admit that everything Yuuri had said was true. Damn those bigheaded jerks. How he wished he could have said it out loud.

"Still, there is another problem."

Yuuri looked at Gwendal in obvious impatience.

"We don't have enough time to arrange the whole festival, and now mixed with a castle party. We only have one month, and we haven't even come up with the main performance." Gwendal said, as-a-matter-of-factly, "If you can tell me how to finish the preparations in one month, you'll have my support."

"There is a way."

Conrad sweated again at everyone's combined stares. His comrades sure were rude, although they didn't explicitly seem so.

"When I said about mixing the two choices, I didn't mean we had to hold both parties at the same time." He calmly explained, "The point is to make the Geinzers feel comfortable, with a party that would not take long to prepare and that was not hard to secure."

"My point is, we hold the party in the castle, but we also invite people to hold a small festival here."

This time, Gwendal and Gunter said no word to dispute, but they didn't look too sure as well.

"…We're bringing those common people…_inside?" _Gunter sounded like he was talking about eating potato chips with his nose, "You mean, _inside_ this castle?"

"Yes." Conrad nodded. "That way, the Geinzers get the comfortable atmosphere they want, and we get the easy-to-set and secure party we want."

"Getting those people inside is not exactly secure!" Gunter frowned, "If we freely let those strangers inside the castle, who knows what they will be doing? They might try something to hurt His Majesty!"

"We're not letting them roam freely inside. We'll just let them build their stands in the front yard. I think it's large enough for a small bazaar." Conrad continued, "We'll set the main party inside this room, place guards on each entrance, set the stage right there where you're standing, serve food on the table, and let everyone do what they want to make themselves at home."

A pregnant silence echoed in the room before Yuuri's clapping hands, followed by the others', could be heard. The proud and happy look on Yuuri's face was enough reward for the smiling half-mazoku. The good signs he had experienced in the morning seemed to have been true. Indeed, those signs kept their promise. It was a wonderful day. But Conrad would probably be happier to know that the best… was yet to come.

XXX

"Is that true that we're allowed to join a noble party, Sir?"

Conrad smiled at the middle-aged man and nodded. He turned to his horse and reached for a piece of paper with a big 'THE BIGGEST EVENT OF THE YEAR! COME AND JOIN!' printed in red from inside of his pack.

"If you're interested in joining, you can fill the forms and submit it to one of the officers." He handed the brochure over to the man, smiling good-naturedly before retreating to the back of the crowd. When he was on the front line, everyone just kept coming to him, asking the exact same thing about the first ever party that invited both nobles and common people, despite the large number of officers he had brought with him for the special promotion mission. This kind of party would probably have been impossible without Yuuri as king. Once more, he thanked Shin Maou for sending Yuuri to brighten their lives.

Conrad felt a bitter smile at the corner of his mouth. It hadn't even been half-a-day, and he missed the goofy king already. It was like he was being pulled deeper and deeper in by his own feelings. He had failed, as both a commander and a man. Thinking about Yuuri during his official mission was just as bad as drinking sake in the middle of work. Well, it was probably the only similar thing about being a Yuuri-admirer and an alcoholic: both drove a previously sane man to be an intoxicated drunkard.

Realizing that he had been spacing out for long enough, Conrad glanced up at the road and inhaled.

"I'm going to make my rounds." He told one of the officers. Before the officer could reply, his commander had already gone out of their sight.

XXX

"Eeh? He's gone???" Yuuri could not hide his disappointment after hearing that Conrad had left to go to the town for the promotion of the upcoming party. "He hasn't asked for my permission! Besides, why should _he_ do something like that? You could have asked some someone else to go!"

"If you're thinking that it's a trivial task, then it will only prove your lack of study, Your Majesty." Gwendal had never forgotten to add a little taste of sarcasm in each of his words, "Conrad is the only one we can rely on to make this plan public. Many people know him, trust and even idolize him. He can guarantee the accomplishment of this mission."

"Well, I know that, but," The king glared at the frowning man, "I also need him so I can discuss about the main performance!"

The raven-haired mazoku could only pinch the bridge of his nose in exasperation, seeming to try his hardest to keep his fading patience. Fortunately, Usagi-chan was still by his side to keep him calm.

"Listen," tapping his right fingers on the table, while his other hand stayed to support his chin, Gwendal started, "Conrad will most likely not come back until afternoon suppertime, so I suggest you go and find Wolfram, Anissina; whoEVER to fill his position until he returns."

"But---"

"Just what do you expect me to do right now?" His tapping became faster and louder, "Send someone to pick him up with an emergency message? Do you think he is going to leave his job just because YOU can't live one day without him?"

Yuuri could feel his cheeks flaming at the older man's last remark. "I---Of course I can! You---I---whatever!"

Gwendal heaved a sigh as the king stormed out of the room.

It seems that Mother was right… 

He quietly opened his drawer and revealed a small stuffed mouse/rabbit/dog/pig/whatever. Its fur had already been worn out, but it was dust-free. Gwendal kept it clean every time with his fingers when he brushed its soft surface.

_As I thought…_ He closed his eyes, resting his head on the chair with another exhausted sigh. _He's going to be the downfall of this family…_

XXX

It was afternoon, an hour after proper lunchtime, and Conrad was sitting alone in one of the double-tables in the restaurant. As usual, paperwork was on the table instead of normal food. His officers were scattered all around the place, chattering, laughing, and enjoying the moment together. Sometimes the peaceful sight could make Conrad feel really resentful. He wished he knew the secret of their carefree attitude.

Mentally scolding himself for spacing out, again, he picked up his pen and brought it close to the paper. Then a loud scream from outside made him drop it again.

_Probably another street-fight,_ he told himself, while wondering who would have been stupid enough to start a ruckus in the presence of his infamous squad.

"What should we do, Sir?" One of his soldiers asked him.

Conrad didn't necessarily think that it was something to be fussed about, but he knew that underestimating a problem was not a nice habit to develop. Besides, he had to set the best example for all of his subordinates, who were currently watching him, waiting for his reply.

"It's your break time. Stay here. I'll go and take a look." He decided a brief moment later. He could still feel their intense stares until he reached the front door and walked out of the restaurant.

First of all, he couldn't see a thing but a large crowd forming not far from the restaurant. People were too busy watching the scene that they did not notice his presence.

"Excuse me," he asked a young girl, who happened to be standing closest to him. The girl blushed furiously the moment she saw him, and stammered a weak 'good afternoon', bowing her head deeply.

"Do you know what is going on here?" He asked, while wondering what he could do to make the girl less nervous. Smiling seemed to make it worse, and everything else didn't seem to work.

"I… I… was… well…" The girl tried her best to keep her legs steady. It helped when she didn't face the handsome man's face directly, or she would have fainted on the spot. "Umm… I… I'm… not sure… but… I think… there's a fight… over there…"

Conrad turned his eyes to the crowd. There was not enough information, but at least, his suspicions had been confirmed.

"Who are involved?" He asked again, and mentally sighed at the way she staggered at his voice.

"T—T---Two---two foreign young men… and… a… a group… of… local… thugs…"

"I see," Conrad thought of throwing her another smile along with his gratitude, but for her own sake, he left her alone with a short 'thanks' before making his way to the center of the crowd.

XXX

"Sheesh, I'm always telling you,"

Right after getting through the crowd to the center of the commotion, Conrad's eyes fell on a pair of young men in dark hoods and dark capes. The slightly taller one seemed to be trying to soothe the other down.

"Don't pick a fight in the middle of a street. Look around you. Don't you think we've gained enough attention?"

"I don't care! He stepped on my toe and asked me to compensate for his _broken_ leg!" The other yelled furiously, trying to pry his 'partner' off. "People like him don't deserve life! I'll send him to the world of no return and---"

"Sshh! Get a grip! You've said enough!"

Their conversation was rather foreign to Conrad. From the way they spoke, it seemed that they were not from Shin Makoku. But the furious one's voice somehow sounded familiar to him.

"Alright, runt!" One of the thugs raised a finger at the troubled couple, smirking, "My friend has been suffering for long enough! You have to pay for the injury your sorry ass has caused now so we can take him to the hospital!"

"Why you---" The shorter foreigner radiated his fury; it almost seemed like he had never been called a 'runt' before, nor had he ever been referred to as a 'sorry ass' in his life, which was probably the truth. One of the foreigners produced a black wand from the thin air and swung it to the bewildered thugs, emitting a blinding red glow. Only people with their sunglasses on would have been able to see the real horror coming up from the sky. A pitch black, spinning ball of nothingness was forming above their heads, and was coming closer and closer to the ground.

Knowing what was coming next, his partner deftly reached for his own white wand and raised it to the sky, closing his eyes during his brief chant. And POOF!

For a moment, the thugs thought that the sky was falling as they saw one of the clouds coming down on them. A moment later, they were buried under its soft surface.

The people who gathered around them could only blink in shock. They had seen fire magic, water magic, lightning, earth or the ice one, but it definitely was most definitely their first time witnessing a spell that could produce a clump of cotton-balls falling down from the sky!

Before everyone could recover from the shock and demand explanations, the two 'foreigners' had disappeared.

While everyone else was focusing on getting the thugs out of their 'fluffy' problem, Conrad made his way to the place where the two people had been to seek for any traces they had left behind. He quickly noticed something near his feet, before slowly picking it up in astonishment.

What… 

Fortunately, Conrad was used to keeping his emotions in check, especially his outward appearance. This was the only thing that kept him from exclaiming out loud his astonishment at what he had found.

XXX

For the first time during the whole day, Conrad found himself not thinking about Yuuri. The two mysterious magicians had an impossible strength that made him feel quite uneasy. Surely, they came from another part of the world, since he had never seen anything like _that_ in his life. Although the magic appeared ridiculous to everyone, even he, who had never been blessed with the ability to perform any of them, could feel the intensity of its strength.

While his horse was making its own way back to the castle, his mind was desperately seeking for answers to his doubts. He was sure that he wouldn't be able to sleep that night over this matter.

Well, in fact, he had been having a hard time sleeping due to problems that revolved around the same person who had been occupying his mind so much recently. (Okay, there's no need to offer a pack of strawberry pocky to the person who can guess who this is since we all know who the 'mystery person' is. Besides, the prized pocky is going to be useful for the one who can reveal the second mystery: what are the problems?)

The first problem was the one Conrad could share with everyone who loved the king in the country. A few weeks before, everyone had been flabbergasted when a group of professional assassins had suddenly shown up in the castle and had attempted to murder Yuuri. Everybody thought that those ruffians had deserved it, but Conrad still regretted how he had lost his temper and had killed all of them mercilessly, with his own hands. If only he had had a little bit of patience to let the last one live, they might have been able to squeeze the information out of him.

_They tried to kill Yuuri,_ his heart ached as he recalled what one of the assassins had said to him a moment before he had slashed his rotten life out of him.

"…instead of a king!"

Conrad flinched at the unpleasant piece of memory. At the second thought, perhaps, they had deserved even worse.

The second problem took the stage as one of the biggest, unsolved problems in Conrad's life. It had started quite innocently. Conrad hadn't expected it to grow this big. Life surely had its peculiar twists. And he was sure that he had pissed off someone up there to deserve such a fate.

"Sir,"

Conrad mentally slapped himself for another dozing off session. Fortunately, his smart horse didn't really need him to find its own way to the castle, or they might have ended up in another region.

"We're here."

As he looked up, it took him another brief moment to make sure that it was indeed Blood Pledge Castle, not somewhere else (or he wouldn't have been able to show a straight face in front of his subordinates again). After dismissing everyone, he climbed down his smart, smart horse, gave it one last thankful pat, and turned around, going straight inside the castle.

Before Yuuri's appearance, whenever he returned from a mission, the very first thing on his mind was handling the report. It was never pleasing to write one, especially when he was dead tired after a long trip. It was the reason why he always used his break time to write it, so he could submit it right after arriving and get some rest.

There were too many things that changed in Conrad's life after Yuuri's appearance. One of them was what he was feeling at this moment. He wanted to see Yuuri's face more than anything, even more than his comfortable bed.

While his brain was on autopilot mode, trying to figure out where Yuuri could be at the moment, Gisela suddenly stepped in his way, looking both pleased and surprised at his presence. Even before she spoke a word, Conrad knew that she was going to lead him to his beloved king.

"Oh, welcome back, Sir." The girl bowed her head down politely at him, "Have you just arrived?"

Conrad smiled and gave her a nod, "Is everything okay here?"

"I suppose. Even better, if I might add," Gisela smiled brightly, "Anissina-sama is going to handle the main performance. I'm sure that everything she comes up with will be fabulous."

Nobody in the castle doubted Anissina's sense of creativity. She always came up with new and sometimes controversial stuff. But her true magic was the way she convinced everyone to follow her ideas obediently. Even Gwendal was helpless under her heel.

"By the way, Sir Weller, I have a message from His Majesty for you."

Conrad just loved the way his hunch never betrayed his expectations.

"He wants you to see him right away after arriving. I think he's in the main hall at this moment, but…"

Conrad restrained his feet from turning away and running straight to his king's place while keeping the modest smile on his face.

"…But of course, you're allowed to get changed first…" Gisela's eyes were fixed on his damp uniform. The sun was stinging outside, and the color of his outfit just helped him absorb the heat even more. "…Or take a bath. Yes. Maybe a hot bath will be better. I'll tell him about your arrival soon."

Giving the girl another appreciative nod, Conrad finally proceeded towards his next destination.

XXX

There was no reason for anybody; I repeat, _anybody_, to be lurking around somebody else's bathroom unless he was 1) a maniac/pervert 2) a rabid fan of the 'somebody else' 3) both. Although the authentic-ness of the statement had been long guaranteed by many random philosophers, Yuuri still found it hard to accept that he was somewhere inside the three categories, so he created another category that was specially reserved for ones of his type: 4) a curious teenager. There, it sounded much better. It didn't make him feel less guilty for making it this far, though.

_Conrad is taking a bath inside…_

He brought a hand up to make sure that his nose hadn't reacted to his 'normal-healthy-teenager-active-imagination' the statement had provoked. Right after Gisela had informed him about Conrad's arrival, and that he had intended to take a bath before meeting him, the devil inside of him had managed to take over his body, and POOF! There he was: standing in front of the bathroom while the angel and the demon inside of him were having another deadly combat. He didn't rely on the angel too much, though. After all, he was a demon king. Wouldn't it make him the most evil of all?

Getting fed up with his worries; Yuuri inhaled another deep, deep breath before placing one hand on the door. However, it still refused to push, knowing that its owner was far from ready. Biting his bottom lip, Yuuri retreated and returned to his previous stance. A few months before, he would have been able to enter without hesitation, knowing that he would have been able to put up a straight face and act casually around the man. But in his current state, it felt impossible to cover up his excitement. The last thing he wanted was Conrad catching him red-handed staring and nosebleed-ing at his naked form. Besides, he hadn't come up with a good reason to intrude someone else's bath. It had to be a real good, reasonable reason that he couldn't wait until Conrad was done.

Yuuri closed his eyes, trying to put some random strings together in his mind, swapping each with another until it felt natural enough. It still didn't sound quite right, but he could already imagine what kind of face, tone and attitude he was going to mask himself with once he was inside. Surprisingly, he had prepared with precautions in case _something_ happened. After contemplating for a few more moments, Shibuya Yuuri, Harajuku Fuuri, was officially ready to face one of the hardest challenges in his puberty.

As he braced himself to step inside, he realized that he still had his eyes closed, half-terrified, half-excited of what he was about to see. He could smell water and Conrad's scent. It took him another brief moment to soothe his nerves down. Since he could not do a thing about his blushing face, he'd just blame the heat when Conrad asked him about it. He wasn't sure if Conrad shared the bathroom with the others or not, but five in the evening wasn't exactly everyone's favorite bath-time, so Yuuri assumed that there was nobody else in the room at the moment. …To think about it… it had been a bit too quiet…

Yuuri opened his eyes and was greeted by the sight of a large pool of hot water. The bathroom looked almost similar than the one that was reserved for him, only that it was slightly smaller. Since he was not there to observe the bathroom, he immediately looked around and tried to find any signs of Conrad, but even after he reached the brink of the pool, he still couldn't spot the brunet anywhere.

_Strange…_ He scanned the whole room again, and once more, failed to recognize any signs of another living thing inside. _Did I come to the wrong room?_

His mental question was answered in a rather violent way. He didn't even have enough time to gasp as he felt 'something', or rather, 'someone' push him toward the pool. Faintly during the brief moment when his brain was struggling for air and recollecting his scattered senses, he could hear two more splashes after his.

As soon as he got to his feet and brought his upper body out of the water, his eyes roamed around to find the culprits who had just made him take his second bath of the day. He held his breath as he saw two tiny figures surface, unmoving, looking as good as dead. Overcoming his shock, Yuuri hesitantly approached one of the doll-sized figures and gaped.

…_What?…_

XXX

Conrad was used to recognizing people from the sound of their footsteps. He developed the ability during his sleepless nights, whenever senseless paranoia forced him to stay alert, or when bad dreams made him jump out of his bed to check up on Yuuri in his room.

After countless sessions of observation, he learned that when the steps sounded light, sometimes sloppy and cheery, it was Yuuri. Firm and fast steps were Wolfram's, his personality imbued in every part of himself. It intrigued him most that Gwendal and Gunter's were the most soundless ones. Gwendal: because he had an unexpected gentle side underneath the stern leader figure; Gunter: because he had an unexpected manly quality underneath the clown-like attitude. It was something of a twist to think that Gwendal could be a lot gentler when no one was looking and Gunter was more careful and thoughtful than he looked. Snapping out of his reverie, Conrad took note that these hazy and careful steps were definitely…

"You've been taking baths a lot lately, I see."

Buttoning up the last button of his white shirt, Conrad didn't bother to hide his grumpiness.

"For the last time, Yozak, please KNOCK."

The redhead only grinned playfully as he casually approached his superior and stood beside him, watching their reflections in the mirror. The fact that Conrad rarely bothered to smile when Yuuri wasn't around really amused him. Thinking about it, it had been one of the reasons why he had teased the brunet for having special feelings to their new king for the first time. Like a schoolgirl having her first crush, Conrad refused to show any weaknesses in front of Yuuri, and it was just beyond cute.

"I've seen you naked. Don't be shy." He decided to annoy the man more before getting to the main subject. Looking at Conrad's tensed face, Yozak felt incredibly lucky that a sword hadn't run through his forehead yet. Yet.

"I would really appreciate it if you would kindly inform me of the reason for your visit."

Oh, shiver. The more polite Conrad was, the closer he was to the gate of hell. Yeah, heaven would be way too boring for the likes of him.

"We haven't talked to each other for a long time and I can't visit you without a reason? I thought we were the best of friends!" Yozak feigned a wounded look as he settled himself on the bed, trying to distract his commander from working on the buttons of his uniform by batting his eyelashes.

Conrad's expression darkened at the reflection in the mirror, but he still seemed patient enough not to kick the happily grinning man out of his room. After all, they had been friends for so many years. He knew that he should have been used to Yozak's antics, but the redhead was just too creative for his own good. He would always find a new technique each time to get on his nerves. The eyelashes-trick was an old, but most annoying, one though.

"I have to go soon. If you want to talk, do it later." He tightened his belt around his slender waist, feeling a lot more comfortable with the weight of his sword and that he had found an excuse to escape his subordinate's pranks.

Yozak didn't look disappointed as he stood up and was prepared to leave, "I see, I see. King's orders are first priority. I'm still hurt that you're ditching me, though."

Conrad ignored him as he reached for the written report on the table, intending to deliver it before going to meet Yuuri. He flipped through the neatly organized papers to make sure that he hadn't left anything behind and had put his seal on it properly. For a moment, the two mysterious foreigners came back to his mind. As Conrad made a note to talk to Gwendal about it, his report had been snatched away from his hand.

"I'll take care of this for you," Yozak quickly remarked at his commander's deadly glare, "King Yuuri has been waiting, hasn't he? Wouldn't it be wise not to let him wait for too long?"

It was not that he didn't trust Yozak, but Conrad couldn't help hesitating. Yozak was never a helpful person to begin with, and the man was the type who normally didn't just help others without given an order to do so. If the report had contained something more important than the promotion of the party, he would have taken it back and insisted on delivering it himself. However, in this case, he didn't think that persistence was necessary, so he just heaved out another sigh and nodded, ignoring the dreadfully suspicious smirk on the other party's face.

"Thank you for your hard work." His expression said something altogether different, though. Rather than expressing his gratitude, the remark seemed more like a warning to Yozak to not mess around with his report and deliver it right away.

"Leave it to me," Yozak batted his eyelashes one last time as he exited the room, "And good luck, _Romeo_."

It had sounded like Yozak's casual teasing line in the beginning, until realization hit Conrad straight on the head.

There had never been a _Shakespeare_ in Shin Makoku.

XXX

Murata had been busy drying his hair with the towel Yuuri had given him a moment ago, while Wolfram had stopped scrubbing, placed his towel on the top of his head as his fiery red eyes roamed around the familiar room, valuing everything he saw quietly.

Yuuri huffed quietly in relief as he had gotten his wet uniform replaced. There actually was a tall stack of the same outfit in his dresser, but Yuuri decided to go with his daily shirt instead. Murata openly displayed his amusement as he appreciated the cute yellow duck on the front side of the over-sized white shirt, despite the blue-version of the same shirt he was wearing, and the red-version one Wolfram had. All of them had the same 'QUACK!' printed on the backside 72-Arial Black with matching color for each version. Yuuri was about to pull the orange shorts out of his informal clothing stack as he realized that Gunter wouldn't be pleased at the new outfit. So Yuuri reached for the black trousers instead and put them on.

"So," The king approached his guests and sat on the seat, facing both young men with curiosity, "can you explain what's happening? Well, I'm kinda used to weird things since I came to this place… but still…"

Murata didn't look at his brother for blessing. Wolfram was probably still sulking after the unsuccessful teleportation and the ruckus they had caused in the middle of the town.

"First of all, I'd like to thank you for saving my brother and I," he started, smiling good-naturedly, "Actually, we have nothing against hot water, only that it makes us shrink and lose our power."

"I wouldn't go anywhere near any hot springs if I were you." Yuuri held back a grimace at the indistinctness of the statement. The 'shrinking' part wasn't really bad, actually. Thanks to that, he had been able to sneak both guys up in to his room without getting too much attention. He remembered seeing Murata in his dream, and somehow, he knew that it wasn't the same Murata he had made friends with in the other world. They were pretty much identical, though.

Then he turned to the 'Wolfram' guy and once more, wondered how the young man could have looked so similar to the Wolfram he knew. Even the way he frowned at him was the same. Shin Makoku never failed to surprise him, he guessed.

"And your name is also Wolfram? Unbelievable." He subconsciously muttered his thought out, provoking another annoyed glare from the blond. For a moment, Yuuri thought that he was going to get yelled at. But all Wolfram did was pull the damp towel down before glancing at him as if he was the one to blame for that. Murata only chuckled at Yuuri's utterly clueless expression.

"Anyway, we came here for a vacation." The older fairy explained, "I was hoping to take my cute little brother around the universe during our holiday. After seeing you, we plan to resume our trip to another place. I hope we're not a bother."

"What are you saying? It's okay! And you have to know that your timing is perfect!" Yuuri's eyes glinted at the mention of his favorite word, "Actually I was going to ask you to stay here for a while. We are going to hold the biggest party of the year in less than one month. It'll be great if both of you stay here to attend it. How does that sound?"

"Really? Oh, we feel so blessed. Don't you think we're lucky, Wolfram?" Of course Murata had specially picked the occasion for his visit, but he decided to pretend that he hadn't known about it at all. Wolfram snorted at his big brother's spotless smile, recalling how the raven-haired young man had been endlessly chattering about the mentioned festival the night before.

"_I'll give away one of my wings if you find our trip boring."_ Murata had confidently remarked, _"And the other wing if the stupid couple couldn't keep you entertained."_

Wolfram sulkily humph-ed as he stole another glance at one of the 'stupid couple', who was obliviously chatting with his brother about various random things. Being a remarkable genius his brother was, he had actually expected him to always say the right thing (frivolous lies were excluded). And of course, making off-hand bets was out of a genius' field, especially when the precious wings were put on the line. It was one of the reasons why he was secretly expecting a lot from this vacation. It sounded even more promising when he realized that Yuuri hadn't regained his memories during his unconscious state. The corner of his lips tugged with an almost unnoticeable smirk. For the sake of his brother's cherished transportation device, the two had better give him the best performance he had ever witnessed.

"What? A train?"

Finally, Wolfram was able to catch the current subject of their pointless conversation. It appeared that the fact that he and his brother had used a train to reach this world was too shockingly simple for the young king. Watching Yuuri's half-bewildered, half-disappointed face, Wolfram wondered what the demon king could have had his mind. Yuuri seemed like the type who liked to exaggerate everything he heard, though…

"You mean you didn't get flushed in a girl's toilet, swiveled under water, tossed on to hard ground and attacked by some rabid villagers for the color of your uniform?" Yuuri sounded like he was close to breaking down and cry, "That's so unfair!"

Wolfram rolled his eyes. It was part of the promised entertainment, he guessed. Actually, he kinda found the way Murata was awkwardly trying to comfort the heartbroken king amusing. Fortunately, he turned his eyes away just in time before his brother turned to him, silently begging for his support.

"Water transport is actually not that bad…" The pet-pats on the head continued as the older fairy tried to find the right statement to rationalize his previous declaration, "It's less… err… time-consuming… more practical… and free of charge… and… err…"

Wolfram only shrugged at his big brother's stern glare, remarking his exact thought mildly, "I still prefer train, though."

And Yuuri brooded more at the cruel, cruel thing called 'fate'.

XXX

Anissina was well-known for her powerful concentration and imagination. As much as it was recommended to see Cheri for expert love-advice, you were encouraged to see Anissina when you needed something new to be created. Given the super-important task to arrange the main performance of the party, Anissina was facing a new challenge to advance her creativity, which she was grateful for. It was one of the professions she hadn't tried yet: a theater director. Oh, the joy of manipula---I mean, _directing_ the actors and actresses to act out her wick---creative script…

As expected from the rumors about Anissina's infamous concentration state, Cheri expected the other lady not to notice her at all as she gracefully let her personal bodyguard open the door for her and entered the room, greeted by the sight of the wrecked library. As if the room had just been visited by a hurricane, papers, pens, books, encyclopedias and dust were scattered randomly about. It was a bit of a wonder to her as she spotted a thick dictionary hanging by the windowsill with a remarkable balance between both sides of the 453-page long book. How it had managed to remain equalized with an odd number of pages was still a mystery for any random anime-detectives to solve (since real-life detectives only go for sadistic murders and stolen jewels).

Anissina was sitting in front of her desk, looking deep in thought. Neat, melodic 'tic and tac' sounds could be heard whenever she bent forward to work with her typing machine. With a wide, knowing smile, Cheri made her way to her friend's place, ignoring some random important historical papers she might have been violating under her flashy red high-heels. Just before she settled down on the stool next to the red-haired lady, she astonishingly noticed the empty trashcan. Not even wasting a single paper, Anissina must have been at her prime.

Cheri intended to wait until Anissina was done with her last page, but it seemed that the strong scent of her new perfume had completely disrupted Anissina's infamous concentration. Looking impassively confident as usual, Anissina turned to her side and smiled at her former queen, who was having a rare guilty look in her eyes for what she had just done.

"I'm sorry for not noticing your presence sooner, Lady Cheri." Anissina only gave her a slight appreciative bow, regarding their current crammed position, "What can I help you with?"

Cheri quickly shook her head and gestured her to ignore her and resume her work, "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to disturb you."

"Don't blame yourself. I only stopped because I had no idea what else to write down." She would have sounded convincing enough if Cheri hadn't known her and her never drying pool of ideas. "I'm glad that you're here. Could you please take a look and tell me what you think?"

The guilt in the ex-Maou's face was replaced by a happy gleam. Pleased at the effect from her remark, Anissina returned to face her typing machine, took off the paper she had been working on carefully, piled it up along with its forerunners before handing the unfinished work over to the enthusiastic-looking blonde.

A moment after reading the first line, Cheri had started to feel confused. She wasn't sure how to spell the title, but it sounded weird either way.

"R---ROM---ROMERO---AND---JU---JURRYETTA?"

"Romeo and Juliet," Anissina corrected, not sounding mocking at all. Actually, she had spelled it with an exactly same sound the moment Yuuri had come up with it for the first time, "His Majesty said that it was the most famous, cliché script which everyone must have ever heard/played/watched/read at least once in their life. I found its popularity intriguing, so I asked him to tell me more about it. It sounds quite promising, actually."

"I suppose it's a love story. Romance is everlasting." Cheri chuckled mildly as she flipped through the neatly organized papers and went straight to the last page. The cheeriness on her face faltered as she carefully reread the words, over and over in disbelief.

"Eee??? No way! You were not trying to kill them, were you???" Losing the very last bit of dignity in her tone, she turned her glassy, puppy eyes to the calmly smiling lady, begging for mercy, "I thought we agreed to never work on tragedies! They're way too evil!"

"Don't worry. I won't use it for our performance." Anissina's tone remained steady, "The one you're holding is the original script from what I've heard from His Majesty's story."

Cheri was still pouting, placing the script back on the desk with a childlike disgusted expression. She looked like a four-year-old who had just spit the candy with her most disliked flavor out, only that her advantageous features allowed her to look slightly womanly cuter. "Promise me you'll not use this?"

Anissina gave her a firm nod, still smiling, "I'll rewrite it and make it more enjoyable." It sounded more like making a totally off-plot story of it, actually. After all, it had been a tragedy to begin with.

"That's brilliant! I know I can trust you to make the best performance!" A bright smile returned to the blonde's face as she clapped her hands, confirming the conclusion to their problem, "How about the cast then? Have you decided on them?"

"Sure. I have also been thinking about it." Anissina picked the dejected script up and reinserted the latest page back in to her typing machine, "Actually, I've been thinking of getting His Majesty as one of the major roles. Geinzers love beautiful things, and I think they'll really appreciate it."

"Kyaaa! His Majesty is going to look so pretty in a dress! I'll help him put it on myself!" Cheri squealed in delight, ignoring the fact that Anissina hadn't mentioned anything about giving him the female leading role at all, "How about the others?"

The red-haired woman made another thinking face, "I've been considering some difficult choices, and I still can't decide. It might be tougher than I expected, especially that we barely have enough time to get prepared."

Cheri only hummed a pointed thinking 'hmmmm…' sound, letting her friend have her own brief moment to finish the original script before moving on to the altered version.

As Anissina pulled the completed paper out, inserted the new one and looked up, she had been able to read most of the blonde's thoughts. It was how she kept her face impassive as the foretold statement flowed out, almost too fluently.

"…Can I suggest something regarding the problem?"

A shiver caused the previously drowsy guard's eyes snap wide open, as he hastily stomped away to obtain his mother's handmade sweater (with love in each strand, yes, that amount of love that would protect you in the middle of a storm of wicked ideas and devious plots).

A rather creepy, loud, un-Anissina-like laughter could be heard not long after.

XXX

_Ignorance is bliss. _

Some people would only snort at the famous quote, some would say that it was irresponsible, some would have agreed somewhere between half and three-quarters way, while the rest would carve it on their walls, using it as a personal living guidance.

The most ironic part of this quote was that the actual worshippers of it were also the people who didn't know/(try to) remember/care about the quote itself. Yuuri was probably the best example you could ever find walking on earth. A moment before, you would have found him weeping at his cruel, cruel fate, and in less than five minutes, he was already back on his feet, chattering cheerfully about the upcoming party that he was quite excited about.

"---And of course I was upset hearing that those good-for-nothing-but-leeching aristocrats refused to attend a party with common people. Then I told everyone this: 'I don't think it's necessary to convince the people. It'd be better to leave them out of the festivities and in remorse while we have a fun party…' (Roll up to verify each exact word), and…"

It would have been rude to interrupt Yuuri at his very prime moment, to which Wolfram had decided to unleash another of their special abilities that would probably have sounded quite enviable to us.

"_Bro, make him stop."_

Murata looked slightly taken aback at the sudden voice ringing in his head. Without looking up to Wolfram's eyes to confirm it, he replied.

"_Can't. He looks so happy. Wait a little longer."_

Wolfram was glaring black-holes now, but Yuuri looked oblivious and Murata pointedly ignored him.

"_It has been one goddamn hour! Are you sure that he's still talking about that same goddamn meeting?"_

"_Great authors extend one simple kissing scene to a 10-page essay, you know."_

Wolfram rolled his eyes. _"Then make him write it out so I can burn it and send its remains back."_

"_JUST. WAIT."_

The blond was contemplating which necessary blackmail material to _convince_ his big brother when several polite knocks could be heard on the door. Never in his life had he ever imagined this 'saved-by-a-lowly-human's-knock' situation, although it didn't make him feel less grateful. He even _almost_ smiled at the flushing messenger who looked quite traumatized at the sight of three _bishounens_, wearing similar cute, oversized shirts, in the same room.

"Is something wrong?" The oblivious king asked, as unaware as usual as he turned around and approached him, spreading the previously face-centered blush to every little part of the poor messenger's body.

"Ha, he has a fetish for cute things I see." 

Murata only chuckled at his brother's comment as he brought his towel up once more to wrap his raven-colored hair. There was no need to horrify the poor young man more by playing Maou.

"H---Her Highness---Lady Cheri----requested your presence in the Main Hall right away." The messenger managed to stammer; his eyes were still fixed on the cute duck on Yuuri's shirt.

"I understand." Yuuri turned to his guests, wondering where he should 'keep' them while he was away. But then, the answer came from the most unexpected source.

"Sir Wolfram and your guest can come too." The messenger was now staring at both guys sitting in the back. He must have been feeling quite dazed at the moment that he had forgotten that it was rude to stare. "And one more thing, Your Majesty."

"Yes?"

"Please use the backstage door."

XXX

As the number of people in the huge hall increased, Conrad was repeatedly reminded at how grateful he was for Gisela's concern and to suggest a bath for him earlier. The room that should have been able to hold hundreds of people suddenly felt quite stuffy with only a relatively small number of chosen people who had been ordered to assemble there. Most probably, the increasing heat was caused by Anissina's attempt to keep the room dark for better stage lighting effect. She had closed all the windows and most of the ventilation to avoid the afternoon sunray. Conrad was sure that she had also known about this 'little' temperature problem, so he assumed that the gathering would not take a long time, or she had prepared something _really_ amazing to make the people forget about the heat and only focus on the stage, which was quite unlikely, he guessed.

"Stupid wimp…"

Conrad turned to his side and saw his younger brother, looking aggravated, gluing his emerald eyes on the entrance door. Both fists were clenched in his lap while he was impatiently waiting for his sluggish fiancé who hadn't shown any signs of his presence at all. Conrad decided not to irritate the blond more with any words of reassurance he had been preparing at the brink of his tongue. The heat was really unhealthy for people with short tempers like Wolfram's, he guessed. He silently wished for Yuuri to not show up at this wrong moment and choose to wait until Wolfram's mood got better.

Diverting his attention away from his fuming little brother, he turned to his left side and saw Gwendal, wearing his usual knitted eyebrowsTM while busying himself doing paperwork. Looking at the way Gunter was sorely trying to keep his fans entertained by signing autographs and doing lots and lots of handshakes, it was very possible for Gwendal's fan club to have invaded the place too. After all, Gwendal was never famous for being sociable. He had never walked out in public without a dozen personal bodyguards around him, day and night. Still, he had once heard from an admirer that it was actually one of one million reasons to adore the man. Women fell for the men they couldn't possess, as natural law stated. And Gwendal was pretty much certified as that 'sexily standoffish antagonist' (Cheri had invented the phrase).

Conrad only held back an amused smile as that _sexy_ frown of his brother's successfully chased another frantic fan away. Women always got what they wanted, he noted briefly. So he just stayed silent and let his brother think that scaring his fans away would set him free from them someday, while all his attempts actually multiplied the number of people who would die happy after earning one of his infamous death glares.

Turning his eyes further beside Gunter, was Gisela. Well, she was technically sitting beside Gunter, but was also practically out of Gunter's reach. With his rabid fans surrounding him, and Gisela's own surrounding her, they were drowned in a world of their own. Only that Gisela was a big smarter with her HERFM - IYLMTLM (Highly Effective Rabid Fans Management, If You Love Me Then Listen to Me). She played her role as an idol quite well, as numerous infatuated teenagers were shoving each other to win the ticket to become her personal slave. Life just couldn't get funnier when it involved a lot of people without a brain in their skulls.

Skipping several people he didn't really know, he finally saw Yozak, who was winking at him with a wide, suggestive smile. He decided that it was probably a bad idea trying to find him and immediately took a 180-degree flip and saw Wolfram's squad full-throttle spreading flying kisses and autographs to their fans while repeatedly stealing glances at their sullen leader.

It took another brief moment for Conrad to realize that the room definitely felt stuffed, aside from the air-deficiency, was the flood of fans-boys&girls coming in to the room to meet their idols. It was like they were having a press conference or some Film Festival Award rather than an official meeting. Scratch that. They were not making blockbusters before Anissina invented everything necessary for making one.

"You look so cute when you're spacing out."

Conrad felt his lips curving up at the gentle, warm hands on his shoulders. Whether he was ten, fifty or one hundred years-old, its soothing warmth had never changed.

"Where have you been?" He asked without looking up, bringing one hand up to brush the pale soft hand.

"I was at Anissina's place." Cheri replied mildly, "We were preparing for the main performance."

"You're responsible for that?"

"Anissina is. I'm merely her assistant." The gorgeous blonde smiled as she bent down and cuddled her son lovingly. It would have been very easy for any stranger to mistake them for an affectionate couple, but since everyone there knew them, they only stared at the lovely scene with a wide smile. Wolfram was technically pouting, but he was not any less pleased than the others. Well, a bit envious maybe, but never resenting.

"Is everything going well?" Conrad asked, enjoying the relaxed feeling of being in his mother's arms again. But Cheri didn't answer him this time, and only tightened her hold instead. It was then Conrad started to feel something strange from her. The way she had suddenly approached and embraced him… it felt like a silent apology.

"Mother…" he tried to not sound too demanding, "Is something…"

"Ladies and Gentlemen,"

Anissina's voice had successfully broken everyone's concentration from whatever activity they had been doing a moment before. Conrad turned his eyes back to the front to find a now properly curtained stage. Anissina could be seen with her microphone on the right side of the stage, and appeared somehow distracted with something else behind the thick, red curtains.

"Before we start the meeting, anyone who has not been summoned here shall leave or be escorted out."

Hundreds of fanboys and girls moaned loudly at the order, but obeyed and left quietly, leaving plenty of air and space for Conrad to breathe properly now.

"Now that all outsiders have left, let the real party begin."

Several gasps could be heard when all the lights were turned off, leaving only one bright spotlight focusing on the stage. But nothing could be seen yet.

"First of all, we'd like to congratulate you, because you're on the top-fifty list of the best-looking people we've specially picked to join us in the main performance for our festival next month."

Conrad could hear loud cheers from behind him. For someone who had just been complimented for being good-looking, Gwendal was cursing quite visibly (apparently, like others, he hadn't been told about the subject of said meeting). Gunter and Gisela seemed pleased, while Wolfram still looked as sullen as before since Yuuri hadn't arrived yet.

"And oh, guards, please let no one out before we're done. I mean, NOT a single soul," Anissina spoke calmly as she flashed her eyes to Gwendal who was trying to leave and tip-toeing towards the exit. The usually composed man shivered and cursed once more before obediently returning to his seat and growling at a chuckling Conrad.

"In case you haven't heard about it, our main performance is going to be a sentimental, touching, bittersweet love story between a young loving couple, Romeo and Juliet, whose star-crossed relationship was opposed by the people around them. It is going to be the ultimate romantic theatrical production of the year, where all people involved are going to put their pride and dignity on the line. Keep in mind that you are chosen people; therefore, consider yourself privileged, if you make it past the cast audition."

More cheers could be heard, followed by loud, loud clapping sounds. Anissina really knew how to stir people in to working for her, that was for sure. But, being the ambitious woman she was, she was not pleased enough at the positive reaction. She needed more astonishment and disbelieving gasps and heart-failures to satisfy her ego. A sly smirk surfaced onto her face as she stole another glance at the carefully closed curtains.

Anissina's smirk wasn't left unnoticed, and Conrad was positively wary, while the other bigger part was very curious of what the woman intended to do. He looked around in the dimness to see if a huge net-trap had been set to capture all the people in the room to become her guinea pigs for her latest invention. Thankfully, he couldn't sense any. His curiosity grew dangerously bigger as the curtains were being pulled apart, excruciatingly slowly.

"Before going to the crucial point of our meeting this time, let me present the major female role for our performance,"

Everyone was soon too deaf with the sound of their thumping hearts to listen to anything Anissina had to say, as the annoying curtains finally got out of their way, revealing the prettiest, cutest, most adorable princess they had ever witnessed in their previously oblivious Narcissistic lifestyles. The sight of the little gorgeous princess had definitely snapped them out of whatever ego they had been clutching on, and sent them straight to the most bottom part of their self-worth. Nothing entertained Anissina more than the priceless sight of good-looking people gaping at another beautiful creature without the slightest indication of envy in their eyes. It was just pure adoration.

Cheri was quite proud of her handiwork of making the heavenly sight possible. The fitting white turtleneck dress almost looked like a wedding dress, only that it looked a bit more modest with long-sleeves, less laces and ribbons. She especially liked the hair accessories, a waist-length chocolate wig that had been carefully held back by a glittery matching-colored net-bandanna. And sadly, for someone who had just desperately fought for his dignity as a male, Yuuri was playing his role beyond well. Showing no sign of struggling to keep steady in his glass high-heel shoes, the princess---err, king, with the most dignified womanly attitude he could muster, was standing in the middle of the stage with his shoulders relaxed, his arms slightly crossed in front of him, and his small hands clutching each other. The sheepish smile on his face improved his appearance almost dramatically. And when he felt bold enough to wave a hand, the crowd went wild.

Five minutes, thirty one seconds later (which felt exactly like fifty years to Yuuri), Anissina finally managed to 'soothe' the newly-recruited rabid fans with her recently invented disastrous biological weapon (wonderful violence: the easy solution to almost _anything – _nobody sue me for this line, okay?) and introduced the star properly.

"As you have all seen," she looked incredibly calm for someone who had just about performed mass murder and created a dead-town, "His Majesty has been chosen to play Juliet, the major female character. Don't you think it's the perfect choice?"

People started to nod furiously, never letting the mentally moaning boy off their predatory sights.

"Now that you have seen what we have to offer," another smirk surfaced on the redhead's face, but this time, everyone was too occupied to notice it, "it's your turn to show us what you have to offer to win a night as his temporary lover. How does _that_ sound?"

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

AXIOMATIC 

_A Sequel of Heels Over Head_

_**Chapter Two of ? – A Run that Gets a Brunet Nowhere**_

A **ConYuu** Fan-fiction

By: **Ami**

Beta-reader: **ProudSnapist** a.k.a **Sherlockian Slytherin**

Alternate Universe, no spoilers (so far)

**Warning**: This fic will be severely confusing if you haven't read **Heels Over Head.**

_Specially dedicated to:_ **Prosopopeia**, whom I'm trying to bribe into updating '**The** **Esoteric'** faster. How about one chocolate bar for one chapter? No? I'll carve Kakashi's face on the chocolate if you want! Eeh? It looks ugly? Two, then! Still no? But that's all I have! Two carved chocolate bars and an exceedingly cute smile from your best-est admirer then? –insert lecherous evil laughter here-

Standard disclaimers apply.

XXX flashback XXX

"_Look," Ignoring his current rumpled state after the struggling, kicking and screaming, Yuuri stood up and glared at the red-haired lady menacingly, "I know that this show is very important, but I refuse to cross-dress in front of our honored guests! I won't let them spread the rumor that the king of Shin Makoku is a sick cross-dresser!"_

"_Please calm down and listen to my reasoning, Your Majesty" Anissina still looked calm as she bowed her head down, trying to look respectful despite her earlier actions, "Geinzers are well-known for their almost unhealthy obsession over beautiful things. They'll consider it a great show of our sincerity if you, the king, are actually humble enough to perform for them. They are also well known for their gentlemanly manners. Each of them has Sir Conrad's civility. Do you think someone like Sir Conrad would go around spreading bad rumors about others?"_

_The mention of Conrad's name caused a slight blush on the boy's face. And to think that he was about to perform in front of more than one Conrad gave him a shiver, a deliciously good one. He quickly shook his head in the negative._

"_See?" Anissina's victorious smile had reappeared, "Have you made up your mind?"_

_That sudden turn slapped Yuuri from heaven straight to hell, reminding him of the dress he was still wearing and the faded pinkish color on his lips that tasted really, _really_ weird_ _when he licked it. His mother had been quite desperate about wanting a daughter instead of a son and had made him wear a dress when he had been very little (and helpless to refuse the treatment), but at least she had had enough sense to not put makeup on her son at a very early stage of his miserable life. Yuuri quickly realized that it only tasted weird because it was his first taste of lipstick. Out of curiosity, he stuck his tongue out again and lapped his upper lip. Now, it tasted a bit like cherry…_

"_The answer is still NO. However," Yuuri remarked, trying to sound as firm as possible, "I'll take the major male role if you want me to."_

_Anissina's slight wince practically shouted, 'Are you kidding me?' But she quickly masked her face with another smile as she tried to put her disagreement in to words._

"_Your Majesty, trust me, it'll be okay. You really suit the role. The play will definitely be a success with your presence as Juliet."_

"Okay_?" It was Yuuri's turn to shoot her the 'Are you kidding me?' look. "I am not playing a girl and making out with some stranger on a stage in front of my guests and my people, even if you think that it's '_okay'_!"_

"_Stranger? Oh, I understand now. So that's the real problem!" Anissina clapped her hands, her eyes beamed with happiness as if they had reached the final conclusion to the trouble, "Then everything is settled. You get to pick your own Romeo. How does it sound?"_

_Now, it sounded so, SO tempting. Yuuri's mind quickly drifted back to his object of obsession. If he could get Conrad to play as Romeo, he wouldn't mind at all, not even the making out part…_

_Oh, God no. Stop thinking about things like that, Yuuri. Cheri would certainly not be pleased to get her favorite dress stained with nosebleed._

_Anissina knew that she was going towards the right direction as she saw the drastic changes in her king's expression. God bless Cheri for giving her the best information at the best time. Now all Yuuri needed was a gentle nudge, and he'd be falling right where Anissina wanted him to be._

"_What do you say to that, Your Majesty?" The lady asked so sweetly that it sounded suspicious. Fortunately, Yuuri's active teenager mind was kind of occupied at the moment to notice such small things. "Do you accept?"_

"_Umm… well…" Yuuri choked on his own upcoming words. Was he really going to say straight to Anissina's face that Conrad was the one he wanted to make out with on stage in front of his guests and his people? "Is… is it going to be okay for me to choose anyone I want? I thought there would have been some kind of audition or…"_

"_We'll hold an audition for the rest of the casts," Anissina calmly explained, "but you'll have special privilege to decide which man you want to be with. After all, it's for your own comfort. We can only achieve the best results with a comfortable environment, don't you agree? I don't think it's a big problem. Everyone can act, or at least they can be taught how to do it."_

_Oh yeah, Anissina-sama… one more nudge, and he's going DOWN!_

_Anissina was grinning so wide in her mind that it hurt when Yuuri finally gave her a weak nod, still looking somehow flustered._

"_Keep your promise. Or I'm out." He warned one last time._

"_No problem. A woman always keeps her promise." In a flash, a notebook was flipped and a pen was comfortably settled around said-trustworthy woman's fingers, "Since we don't have much time and everyone is waiting, let's make this quick and tell me… Who is your chosen Romeo?"_

XXX end of flashback XXX

Okay, okay, in the middle of this… fiasco… please spare a little minute for our cute little king to recall every 'not-so-little' disaster that had been falling upon him since a little while ago. First of all, he arrived at the backstage only to get groped by Cheri and her evil underlings who intended to measure his three-sizes (which had ungracefully ended up with almost similar numbers for each). Blushing, screaming, kicking, nothing worked to stop the two devilish women from undressing him and putting the damn itchy dress on.

They only started the explaining part (which should have been done MUCH earlier) a little while after he threatened to kill himself for the horrendous humiliation (great, such a perfectly girly threat, but hey, what could be more humiliating than getting sexually-harassed in front of his people anyway?). It was when they told him about the whole idea, the idea of making him take the major female role in the biggest drama performance of the year, in front of honorable superhuman foreigners, and his dearly treasured people.

Yuuri did another blushing, screaming and kicking number before Anissina dragged him to a more private place to talk alone. And despite being strongly defensive in the beginning, he found himself nodding in the end, still blushing deeply. Back to current time, Yuuri looked like he was repeatedly cursing himself for that small agreement.

Anissina's voice sounded less and less coherent as his dark eyes fell on the man he really wanted to avoid the most. And it just happened that they were looking at each other from the distance. When he remembered that Conrad always did an excellent job reading his mind, his feet subconsciously took a step backward defensively.

Closing his eyes for a moment, he finally braced himself to meet Conrad's eyes again. The makeup, despite being at the smallest possible amount, still made his face feel itchy. It was downright toe-curling to cross-dress like this, but if Conrad liked it… if Conrad showed even a slight sign of liking him in the dress… maybe…

When Conrad suddenly broke their eye contact, he mentally slapped himself for staring at Conrad for such a stupid reason. For Shin Maou's sake, he had cross-dressed numerous times in front of the man during their trips together (the girlier and prettier the disguise, the safer, the better, and less suspicious said "Yozak-sensei"). Well, of course those crappy half-hearted disguises didn't look half as good as this, but still, Conrad hadn't shown any signs of interest. The man was always disgustingly polite whenever he was around. He had even protected him from perverts who had senselessly tried to grope him in the street. And so, Shibuya Yuuri, one-who-had-permanently-damaged-some-of-his-brain-cells, what exactly made you think that _that_ gentlemanly man had kinks for you in a dress---let alone _you_?

Yuuri moaned, almost visibly.

"…That concludes my explanations about the procedure to sign up to become the princess's companion."

The king twitched again at the 'princess' part. But since it was part of the agreement, he only threw the smirking woman one brief death glare before returning to the audience with a bright (fake) smile.

"But of course, there are also other roles you can sign up for. Make two or three choices to widen your chances of performing." Before anyone had a chance to ask about the list of the casts and where they should get their application forms, Anissina reached for a suspiciously hanging rope near her. She just _loved_ to make her audience scream, in more than one improper way or two.

It was when the ceiling above them suddenly flipped around, papers that had been previously deposited on its outer side (who knows how) rained down on them.

"We don't have much time, so I expect you to submit it tomorrow before lunch in my office." Anissina watched in satisfaction as people started to read the cast list, brief summary and application form in the documents she had carelessly thrown over their heads. It made her feel even happier to see the excitement in their eyes. She knew that she was going to get the best of the actors. After all, she _always_ did. "The audition date is going to be announced tomorrow after lunch. I think that's all. You're dismissed."

Disappointed moans could be heard as the curtains were once more closed. They watched fervently until Yuuri's smiling figure could no longer be seen. Ignoring Wolfram's enraged screams which probably had something to do with 'my fiancé', 'don't touch', 'bleep', 'bleep' and 'bleep', each of them just reached for the nearest application forms they could find and walk out of the room, still chattering happily with their friends about the character they wanted to play, or the pretty girl they had just witnessed.

Cheri watched the peaceful scene in fascination, before reaching out for her own papers and giggling happily as she made her way towards the backstage to help Yuuri out of his 'irksome girlish junk' (Yuuri invented the phrase).

The moment the door was left unguarded, Gwendal rushed out before everyone else did, not even bothering to take one look at the scattered papers. Anissina's eagle eyes glinted as she saw Gwendal walking out bare-handed, as she quickly jumped down the stage, grabbed one of the application forms and ran after the terrified man. Nobody knew what happened next, but they assumed that something had turned bloody and chose to ignore Gwendal's unmanly shrieks from somewhere (hopefully) far away.

Wolfram had stopped his rants and had seemed to understand that the people were applying the 'Cocktail Party Phenomenon' to remain deaf. Knowing that the only way to protect his fiancé from those dirty perverts was by defeating them in the fair play, he reached down to get his form before stomping out of the room to get a pen.

Gisela and Gunter spent some time chatting about how lovely their king looked like on the stage. After learning some new unusual adjectives from Gunter's 10-line poem about Yuuri's loveliness, they exited the room with their papers.

Conrad let out a soundless sigh as he looked down at the application form that had 'accidentally' landed on his lap. Even after most people had gone out for fresh air, he remained in the dimness of the room, staring at the piece of paper without touching it. After making sure that everybody had left, he stood up, let the paper fall off his lap and walked out without looking back again.

XXX

Yozak reentered the main hall, grabbed another set of papers and walked back out, whistling almost too cheerfully for someone who had just become Anissina's infamous threatening skills' victim. Two sets of two documents and an abandoned report in each hand. Oh, life's good.

XXX

Conrad only smiled at Yuuri's gape the moment their eyes met again, now in a less embarrassing circumstance. Without waiting for the boy to start a conversation, he approached him and smiled, a suspiciously wide smile.

"How do you feel?" He asked, enjoying the dramatic change of color in the boy's face.

"…Like life sucks…" Yuuri scowled at the older man's amusement, but a part of him was pleased that Conrad had been waiting for him near the backstage door, "Where have you been? I was looking for you…" 'In the bathroom' part was left unspoken.

Conrad's eyes blinked in realization, "I showered and went straight to the main hall. I thought I'd see you there… well… not in that kind of situation, actually…"

Yuuri pouted. Why did the conversation have to head that way again? His skin started to itch again at the imaginary foundation and mascara and blush-on and lipstick… ugh, damn irksome girlish junk! How did Cheri survive with _those_ things on her face everyday?

Then the answer suddenly struck him like a blessing from above.

Deciding that he had gone through the most humiliating phase of his life, Yuuri braced himself to look straight to his unsuspecting secret crush's face.

"So, what do you think?"

Conrad was taken aback for a moment, glancing down at his king's wide, hopeful eyes, wondering what kind of answer Yuuri wanted from him. Since he had been doing the job for quite some time, it felt so awkward that he couldn't find a single clue in Yuuri's expression as to what he was thinking. Yes, he looked hopeful, a bit anxious, perhaps, but that's about all he could read. And it was his second failure of the day. He couldn't have lost his King-Yuuri-mind-reading ability, could he? Or had he become _that_ desperate to think that Yuuri was asking him if he had looked pretty in the dress? (Long period of sexual-deprivation could do _magic_ to the brain)

Yuuri was facing him now, looking even more curious than before. The king wasn't saying anything, but his eyes were screaming the question out repeatedly, making Conrad feel more and more uncomfortable. Thanks to years of training, his face failed to let the emotions out and be apprehended. It made him feel slightly better as he recollected the pieces of his mind and tried to come up with a good answer. Or maybe, a dumb answer would work better.

"The play will be…" _Remember Gunter's poem… the poem…_ "…awe-inspiring… I'm sure of that. With Anissina as the director…"

"No! Not the play!" Yuuri was too anxious that he had forgotten to flush at the supposedly embarrassing situation, "Umm… you know… the dress and makeup were itchy… the shoes… were so uncomfortable… I wonder what makes women keep up with them so patiently every single day…"

Oh no oh no oh no! Yuuri really was asking him if he had looked pretty with the dress!

_Easy… it's easy…_ He tried to bullsh--spellbind his own mind into believing that there surely was a way to escape the love of his life's glittering eyes and answer the question calmly the way he always did when his mother bought a new dress. _Tell him that it looks good on him (_which is SO true_)… but he might be upset if I tell him that he, a male, looks dashingly pretty in a dress… so telling him that he looks cuter in this oversized duck shirt might be better (_another solid truth_)… uh… but I don't think Yuuri appreciates being called 'cute' (_you know, teenagers and their self-denial to the world's harsh cold ducky truths_)… so… what should I say?_

As he stumbled with various answers he had in mind, the admiring faces of the new recruits he had just greeted a few days ago flashed before his eyes. What would they have said if they saw him in his current helplessness? Surely, life was a hell of a lot easier when you weren't the commander of a thousand soldiers…

"Oh, Sir Conrad! Good evening!"

…But of course, all bad things have a little magic switch on each of them. It was just the matter of wit and patience to find the hidden switch and turn them in to something, I mean, something _really_ useful.

Conrad just realized that he looked way too cheerful for the interruption when he turned his eyes to the young, freshly recruited soldier who was bowing his head deeply at him. But then again, who could resist the charm of our lifesaver?

"I'm Reich Kannabar from squad B! My ID number is KR276398572B! I'm really honored to be able to see you out of work like this, Sir! You look absolutely charming with those new boots, Sir! Your hair is still a bit damp so I earnestly suggest you to dry it properly so you won't catch a cold, Sir!"

Conrad held back an urge to take a step backward, grab Yuuri and run away. Something was starting to feel _really_ wrong with this new guy.

"Good evening. I appreciate your attention." He somehow managed to keep his voice sincerely stern, "However, your lack of courtesy toward our king really disappoints me."

The new recruit flushed as his eyes fell on the (rather annoyed) young man next to his idol commander and noticed the other male's black-black appearances right away. So THAT harmless-looking cute teenager was his KING? His eyes started to swirl. Sure, he had heard rumors about the angel-hearted King Yuuri, the compassionate King Yuuri, the wise King Yuuri, the all-powerful King Yuuri, but none of them had had significant resemblance to 'adorable', 'so, SO, young' and 'moody'. He felt so damned when said teenager started to glare at him for his misbehaving.

"A…a… my humblest apologies, Sir! Your Majesty! Please forgive my lack of care! It was not intentional, Sir!" He blurted out, almost without a thought.

Yuuri's face softened at the sincere apology. Besides, the soldier in front of him still looked quite young (16 or less real-world version, 80 or more Shin Makoku version). He could assume that the young man was one of twenty-six new recruits Gwendal had informed him about a few days before.

"So you're from squad B?" The king had quickly forgotten about his earlier fleeting jealousy at the way Conrad had looked at the new guy, "Are you a new recruit?"

"That's true, Sir! I was just taken in several days ago! I'm really pleased that I am finally able to fight alongside my supreme idol, Sir Conrad! I've been idolizing him since I was a little kid! Sir Conrad is the bravest, strongest warrior in Shin Makoku!"

Now with two pairs of glittery eyes focusing on him, Conrad really felt like taking a step backward and running to someplace far, far away, but he was supposed to be the 'strongest' and 'bravest', and that sure didn't fit with running away did it?

"I understand. Keep in mind with the good-manners next time you meet His Majesty. You're dismissed."

"Yes, Sir! Right away, Sir!"

Fortunately, the young recruit was quick at following orders. In less than two seconds, his figure could no longer be seen.

"Now I can see that you're very popular, Sir Conrad!" Yuuri grinned cheekily at his subordinate's slightly reddening face, "I'm truly honored that you're willing to use your supreme ability to protect me, Sir! It does me wonders why you haven't had your own shrine built, Sir!"

"Yuuri…" The other man's blush deepened. Now he understood how Yuuri felt every time he teased him about his superiority and made a mental note to do it less often (but such addictions couldn't be stopped with one brief resolution).

"Can you tell me where the headquarters of your official fan-club is? Am I going to get your autograph if I join? Or am I going to get the list of your detailed schedule to make it more convenient to stalk you?"

"Yuuri… please stop…"

"Remember about your precious hair. You have to dry it properly! Your fans are going to cry an ocean if you catch a cold." Yuuri seemed like he was really enjoying himself. Leering maniacally at the flushing man, he pointedly looked down at the brand new boots. Of course he had noticed them during the full-body scan he had performed on the man earlier; only that he had been unsure what to say or if it was okay to comment on them. "Oh, shiny boots, they really match your shiny figure! Can I have them as a souvenir? I might be able to make a fortune by selling it to your…"

"Okay, you got me." The older man held his hands up with a sigh, "If you promise to stop bringing this up when we're talking, I'll talk Gunter in to letting you out this weekend."

Yuuri didn't bother to hide his excitement as he whooped and did a happy dance.

Conrad only smiled at the joyous king, while his mind started to search for the right words to tell Gunter later. It wouldn't be as easy as it sounded, but it was definitely worth it.

XXX

Talking about Gunter, Yuuri _almost_ screamed when he opened the door to his room to see Gunter at his desk, scribbling something, and red-eyed Wolfram waiting beside him. Both guys looked up to him as they felt his presence.

"Oh, you're back." Wolfram acknowledged briefly before turning his eyes back to the paper Gunter had been scribbling on, "Hurry, you'll cause him a heart-attack if you stay like that."

"Okay," Gunter replied calmly as he gave his writings one last touch before putting his pen away, looking smugly satisfied at his handiwork. "Gee, this can be considered an art, you know. The curves, the lines, the dots…"

Wolfram threw him another stern look before ushering him out of the room, ignoring Yuuri's shocked expression as they passed him by.

"I'll be right back." Gunter announced cheerfully and closed the door.

Wolfram just shrugged as he spun around to face the king, "That was my brother." He spoke mildly, as if it was all the explanation that was necessary. Realizing that the confusion on the other party's face hadn't receded, he added, as calmly as before, "We can't read and write your letterings, so my brother borrowed that man's body for a moment to fill our documents."

After that, everything started to make sense to Yuuri, except for the 'borrowing' part. Wolfram didn't look patient enough to explain everything to him, so he just stood there and waited until the other boy showed up, while Wolfram was keeping himself busy by staring at the words he couldn't translate on the papers in his hands. In less than five minutes, the door finally swung open, revealing the awaited smiling Murata.

"I returned him to his room. He'll probably be a little bit confused, but I think no damage has been inflicted." He kindly informed as his eyes fell on the blinking young king, "You have something on your mind?"

"…Did you just 'possess' him? Literally?" Yuuri looked so excited that it was almost creepy, "How did you do that? I mean… wow… you guys are so COOL! Can you teach me how to do it?"

Murata grinned, almost apologetically, "Umm… it's… kinda… fairies-only technique?"

"You're no fun!" Yuuri pouted for a moment, but recovered himself in less than ten seconds, as usual, "By the way, I had your room and dinner arranged. I'll take you there now if you want to…"

Yuuri's words faded as his eyes fell on the papers Wolfram was handing his brother. He had only managed to see a glimpse of it, but he was sure that they were the same papers that had rained down in the main hall earlier.

"W… wait… where did you get that?"

Murata rolled his eyes, "From… a very nice officer who told us that we deserved it?"

Yuuri wasn't usually _this_ sharp, but the way Cheri's messenger had looked at both of his guests had been distracting enough that he could have remembered every little detail of the lecherous expression. His eyes, as well his brain, were burning! The worst thing was that the stupid lovesick officer had also been sick enough to give the documents as his token of love. Yuuri could imagine the pick-up line that had been applied during the whole process. It probably was something that sounded like 'Hey, cutie! Wanna make fun of our cross-dressing King Yuuri? Please take these application forms as my appreciation to your beauty!' Grah!

Yuuri winced at his thought and turned his attention back to Gunter's neat handwriting on the paper on the top of the pile. He, again, regretted his lack of concentration in his language class. Well, actually he was getting better at writing and reading Shin Makoku letterings, but still, much like Kanji or Chinese letterings or Hieroglyphics, words were not something that could be comprehended in several hours of hazy learning. They were quite demanding, and had to be repeated over and over before Automatic Cognitive Processes took over the whole job for your lifetime. Certainly, Yuuri's hadn't been able to grasp the ability properly; therefore, he hastily turned his eyes away and looked at its holder's face instead for the answer to his curiosity.

"What role are you signing up for? Don't tell me…"

"Don't worry. We won't touch the Romeo part. Someone else would be way more suitable for that." Murata chuckled in amusement at the king's panicking face, "We only think that it would be more interesting to join the show instead of sitting with the audience. I hope you don't mind. We'll only take small roles."

Murata's mild tone and the confirmed fact that the two fairies hadn't signed up for Romeo made Yuuri feel a lot more relaxed. After all, after his little 'deal' with Anissina, there should have been no reason for him to worry… aside from his fleeting fret of what the sly woman might have been doing to fulfill the required conditions, since he was sure as hell that Conrad wouldn't sign up for the stupid role on his own will.

"STUPID WIMP!"

The three only watched with blank faces as the door was slammed open and another Wolfram barged in to the room, smoldering with anger.

"Where have you been? I've been looking for you all over the place!" The blond pointed his finger at the dumbfounded king accusingly, "Now tell me! How much did Anissina pay you to dress up as a woman, sell your body and betray your fiancé!"

Murata and the red-eyed Wolfram immediately took their seats and continued to watch in excitement. Selling the body and betraying a fiancé? Ooh, a real-life soap-opera! They refrained from clapping their hands at the infamous most popular show on earth.

Yuuri blinked once more before redness conquered every little space in his face. The 'betraying fiancé' part might be correct, but…

"I'm NOT selling my body!" The king shrieked, almost frantically at the disturbing image of him holding a price-tag, wearing a t-shirt with a big 'BUY ONE GET ONE FREE!' printed on its front side, "It's just a play! An official one! Anissina doesn't have to pay me to perform!"

"But you DO know that you're going to be paired up with Shin Maou-knows-who! She's holding an audition to choose your partner, for Shin Maou's sake!" Wolfram was still shaking his pointed finger in anger. "I AM your fiancé! If you're going to cross-dress and act as a girl, then I should have automatically been chosen to be your partner! It's for your own good too!"

Yuuri turned his eyes to the sword on his fiancé's waist and started imagining what would have happened if the sword replaced the finger and only stopped when the image in his head started to turn bloody. He soon decided to not get angry altogether with Wolfram and quickly thought of a very good reason to calm the fuming blond down.

"Look, Anissina-san only holds the audition to fire up each contestant so they'll do their best for the show. I'm just trying to be professional by following what my director says, that's all!"

Wolfram's frown deepened at the explanation, "So you're telling me that even if that woman asks you to make out on stage with some stranger you'll do it! This is a LOVE story, I'm telling you!"

"Yes! I mean, no! I mean---I----" Yuuri subconsciously turned his eyes to Murata, begging for help. The fairy ignored him, almost pointedly. "I---it---"

"…is just a play."

Yuuri gaped at the words that had just come out from his own mouth, without any order from his brain. It was like his tongue had just moved on its own will. But before he could solve the mystery, his insubordinate tongue continued its blabber.

"Of course I have learned and contemplated each risk for the decision I have made. And I have decided to take it for the sake of the performance."

Now the situation became even more awkward. Yuuri was gaping, Wolfram was gaping, and the other Wolfram was glaring at his brother, whose smile remained.

"I know it'll be hard for both of us. Honestly, it really breaks my heart that I have made you so disappointed, my dear fiancé."

Yuuri held his breath as the last statement came out of his mouth. Almost reflexively, he tried to bring his hands up to cover the 'guilty' words, but the hands suddenly chose to rebel and flopped up on Wolfram's shoulders instead, as his lips started to curve up against his will, forming a real creepy forced smile.

"I'm so sorry. But it's the part of my job as a king. I hope you can understand. After all, it'll be a good learning experience for the future, when you'll be by my side and giving me your support as my official partner."

Inner Yuuri was howling in agony at the words, while the outer one was struggling to keep his smile sincere enough.

Surprisingly, and fortunately, it actually worked. Wolfram's face had softened. He had also stopped yelling and was now smiling sheepishly at his possessed fiancé.

"I… I suppose… It's okay." The blond finally said, "I understand that you're feeling responsible for the performance. I… I'm sorry for yelling earlier."

The trusting look on Wolfram's face made Yuuri feel a bit guilty, but he was mostly relieved to have gotten off the hook. He tried to move his hands away, and he did it. It appeared that his body had returned back to his own control. Then he turned to Murata and saw the fairy smiling suspiciously at him. Well, although it hadn't been pleasant the slightest bit, at least he would have been able to tell his friends in his world that he knew how being 'possessed' felt like. He'd be more pleased to 'share' the experience with them, though.

"Nah, you don't have to apologize." Yuuri smiled, "Let's just do our best for the performance."

Wolfram nodded and looked a lot calmer, "Then, I'll submit my document to Anissina-san now. If I have to win you fair and square, I'll do it."

"Good luck with the audition."

With another nod, Wolfram exited the room, much to Yuuri's relief.

"Thanks for that." Yuuri turned back to his guests, "But eh… next time, do warn me before…"

The door was suddenly slammed back open. Wolfram was standing at the doorway, looking somehow perplexed, glaring at 'something' among the three people in the room.

Losing his preceding sharpness, Yuuri tried to trail the emerald eyes' track. His own raven ones widened in horror as he realized _what_ Wolfram had been glaring at.

"…What? You have a problem or something?" Red-eyed Wolfram looked fairly annoyed as he glared back at his 'twin'. Although the reason was obvious, the fairy had received more than enough weird looks from his surroundings during the little ruckus in the town that he was touchier than usual.

Yuuri turned his eyes back to the 'real' one to find that the death glare had been neatly diverted to him.

"…Who IS he?"

XXX

Anissina looked up from the script she had been working on when she heard familiar footsteps coming closer to her room, which had become even messier than before.

"Yo."

The door had creaked open. Yozak made his grand entrance by stepping on some random ancient historical document. The frail paper ripped apart, so did the romance and mystery it had been struggling to keep for years.

Sadly for the poor paper, Anissina was already up for the newer, younger ones. Her eyes gleamed at the sight of the stack of application forms Yozak was waving carelessly in hand. It seemed that everything had turned out even better than what she had expected. It had just been less than two hours, and most of the applicants had signed up.

"Is this all?" Anissina stood up, took over the papers and looked down at her desk to find an empty space to place them on. Finding none, she casually pushed the books and papers off of the desk and placed the precious applications on the newly-acquired space, looking very excited as she carefully examined each of the documents for both input-errors and interesting entries. As expected, most of them, even some females, applied for 'Romeo', and some who had had more free time had also placed cute footnotes, like 'Even if it's just for one night, please let me have him!' or 'If you can match me up with gorgeous Juliet, half of my year's salary is yours!' or 'Make sure that there're enough romantic scenes for us!'. Anissina shook her head in amusement before looking up to meet Yozak's similar look.

"What do you think?"

The redhead shrugged, "How about the one who offered his salary? We'll make quite a fortune."

"Great entertainment comes first, young man." Anissina placed the paper down with another smirk, "I assume everything is in order? After all, being Sir Conrad's most trusted subordinate, I expect a lot from you."

"Maa, don't you think you're misplacing your trust?" Despite his words, Yozak reached for the document from inside the fold of his shirt and handed it to the over-thrilled lady. "Being his most-trusted subordinate, it'll be just proper for me to tell him every little detail of _this_."

"No, I believe I didn't misplace anything." Anissina looked quite smug as she read the paper carefully and found no flaw, "Wonderfully done. Thanks for your hard work."

"No problem. That guy is simpler than he looks. So is his handwriting and signature." Yozak absent-mindedly approached the desk and picked up the first paper on the pile, looking over it with bored eyes, "…If you don't mind, can I ask something?"

"Go ahead." Anissina's eyes were still fixed on each word in the document she was holding. Boy, no matter how "simple" Conrad seemed, Yozak had to be quite a brilliant forger to be able to make a perfect copy of Conrad's signature. Despite what he had said, Conrad's autograph was actually one of the most complicated set of illegible curves and lines Anissina had ever seen; as expected from someone who knew both Yuuri's and Shin Makoku's letterings.

"Why are you doing this?"

Since the lady didn't even flinch at the question, Yozak believed that she had expected it, and presumably, was prepared with the answer.

"Not merely for entertainment, or a part of your research, I suppose." He placed the paper back on the pile and reached for the second one, although he didn't seem interested in any of them at all. "If you don't want to answer it, it's okay. I am just feeling a bit curious."

With that, Yozak tossed the second application down on the desk and turned around to leave. It was when he was about to make his grand exit by stepping on the very same crushed historical paper, Anissina finally spoke up and answered him.

"I don't know."

Her voice sounded steady like usual, but there was something in her tone that made the simple statement different.

"They just make me want to do something. Maybe that's it."

A wide grin was painted on Yozak's face when he turned back to face the smiling lady and replied.

"Same here."

XXX

After minutes of trying to convince Wolfram that _things_ like two people who were born with identical physical appearances were possible, Yuuri finally managed to introduce both of his guests to the blond. Wolfram still looked doubtful about Yuuri's theory that two babies that were born in the same room at the same time with the help of the same person would have similar faces and attitudes, but he also didn't know well enough about these 'baby' things to oppose the idea. And one thing for sure; shaking hands with someone who was not related to your bloodline, and looked _exactly_ like you would freak the hell out of anyone. As it did Wolfram, despite his lack of knowledge about spooky conspiracies about doppelgangers.

"…I think the two of you can be good friends, right? Wolfram? _Wolffie_?"

Red-eyed Wolfram was cursing under his breath, while his brother was chuckling uncomfortably at his new pet-name. If this was any indication of how Yuuri was going to name his kids later, it might be a good idea for him to remain gay and childless.

"Any friend of Yuuri's is a friend of mine. I hope you'll enjoy your long vacation here." The blond looked very relieved to finally be able to take a step away from his twin, "Wimp, how are you treating our guests? Shouldn't they be escorted to their rooms now? How about dinner?"

"I was about to tell them that!" Yuuri pouted at his fiancé before turning back to the guests and smiled, "I'll take you to your rooms now. Then let's have dinner together. I'll introduce you to everyone."

Murata nodded, while _Wolffie_ was still sulking over his new name.

Wolfram's eyes fell on the rumpled document he had been holding in his left hand and quickly remembered what he was supposed to be doing at that moment. "I have to submit this application first then I'll catch up with you."

"Okay. See you later." Yuuri nodded.

Wolfram returned his nod before turning around and walking out of the room.

Yuuri spent a full minute sighing, savoring his relief as he turned to his awaited guests when he felt prepared.

"Alright, shall we go now?"

XXX

Conrad, like the others, had actually become quite drunk, only that he had had more experience to maintain his appearance and still look somehow commonsensical. Not wanting to lose that little amount of self-control that remained in his alcohol-induced mind, he chose to excuse himself from the party (which had turned rather chaotic) a little while after midnight.

Right after closing the door of his room behind him, he turned around and let his legs release their frail support for his body as he slowly slid down, releasing his breath after he felt relaxed enough sitting on the cold tile floor, resting his head and upper body on the still unlocked door, his arms hanging limply on each of his sides, while his legs were carelessly stretched in front of him. He hadn't been _this_ drunk for quite some time. He had forgotten how much damage it could cause to one's sanity. His head was spinning, his consciousness flickered, and his other senses seemed to be dying down. He wasn't sure if he'd make it to the bed that night, but at least, with his numb senses, the floor didn't feel as cold and as hard as it ought to be.

Just when his entire consciousness was about to slip away, he heard knocking at the door. He ignored them and kept closing his eyes. Then he heard a conversation outside of his room. Unfortunately, hearing was the best that he could muster at the moment. His brain just wouldn't cooperate and let the information flow out again without processing it.

After several more minutes, when his body relaxed again, he felt the comfortable piece of wood he was sleeping on shift, very slightly under his weight. He kept closing his eyes, even as the shifting became more persistent and was pushing his body forward along with the door. When the position became too uncomfortable, even for a drunk, to get some of his well-deserved rest, Conrad finally gave in and moved away, only to slip in to the same position on the wall and close his weary eyes again, not even bothering to see who his midnight guest was.

His eyes were closed, but the tiny bit of his awareness was still awake. It could feel the 'guest' approaching, before kneeling down before his limp figure. His presence didn't feel dangerous at all. Instead, this person felt warm and safe.

"...You're drunker than they described…"

Conrad's eyes snapped open at the voice. His expression was totally priceless as he came face to face with the very last person he wanted to see at the moment.

"Yuu… Yuuri…" He tried to get up, but the king pushed him back down gently, assuring him to stay in that position until he was strong enough to do more.

"Wait there."

In the darkness, Conrad couldn't see what Yuuri was doing after standing up and leaving him for the brief moment, but he felt really relieved when the boy came back with a glass of water in his hand. Instinctively he reached a hand out to receive the glass, but Yuuri pulled it away and shook his head with a smile.

"You'll spill it. Let me help."

Having no energy to fight back, Conrad only nodded and waited nervously as the boy leaned forward, supporting one hand on his drunken companion's shoulder and used the other hand to guide the glass to the dry lips. The simple water was both clear and soothing.

"You want more?"

Conrad was partly disappointed as Yuuri's hand retreated. It had felt so good to be so close to this loveable creature. "No, thanks."

Yuuri nodded and put the glass away.

"Let's wait for a moment. I'll help you get to the bed when you're ready."

Conrad closed his eyes as weariness came back down upon him, and only opened both chocolate orbs again when he heard a chuckle escape from the other party's lips. His own lips curved up at the amused look the king was giving him.

"Do I look that pathetic?" Conrad hoped he didn't sound sarcastic, because he didn't mean to.

"Nah, it's just funny because I've never seen you looking like this, Conrad." Yuuri giggled again, "And I never thought that I'd be able to."

"I never thought I'd let you see this side of me either." Conrad wondered for a moment how the words could flow so easily from his lips, when it had been so hard to let it out when he had been entirely conscious. "…I shouldn't have drunk this much…"

"It's okay, don't feel bad." Yuuri's smile remained, "Sometimes my dad also gets home drunk, and my mom always scolds him for that. But I secretly think that they look even more affectionate to each other at those times."

Conrad closed his eyes again, struggling to keep awake. If it was really just a nice dream, at least he wanted to experience it longer.

"When I was little, I often woke up in the middle of the night seeing mom supporting dad, swaying all the way from the front door to the dining room. After that, she would give him a big glass of cold water and say 'drink it ALL. If you leave any behind, I'll pour it on your head.'"

Conrad chuckled. Being the only Shin Makoku man who had ever met Yuuri's mother, that story sounded even more hilarious. "Are you going to pour the water on my head too?"

"Maybe, if you get really difficult like my drunken father." The king sounded fond, "Since you're the best-mannered drunk I've ever met, I'll let you off this time."

"I'm grateful." Conrad slowly opened his eyes again, half-lidded this time. Yuuri was still watching him with a gleam in his dark orbs, making him fidget at the possibility that he was the one who had brought that loving look to the boy's face. If he had his entire sanity in tact, he would have run away to find a quiet place to calm his pounding heart down, which sadly, he hadn't. It truly was a blessing in this unfortunate situation that the room was dim enough to hide his blush.

"What can I help you with?"

Yuuri blinked at the sudden change of subject.

"You came, in the middle of the night," Conrad pointed out, looking up at the bewildered king with a smile, "I presume you need something from me, or you have an important matter to discuss."

"Ah… yes… that makes sense…" It was Yuuri's turn to blush and thank the dimness, "Actually… I… well… I just want to see you. I wanted to introduce my friends to everyone… but you didn't show up at dinner…"

"Ah, right… the party…"

"Yes, I know now that you had to attend the welcoming party for the new recruits. Gwendal also didn't show up. He said he wasn't feeling well, so he had his dinner delivered to his room."

Conrad wondered if it was just his imagination, or Yuuri really had sounded upset about something. Just in case the king was, he apologized for not informing him about the party before. Yuuri's expression softened after that, confirming his suspicion. Conrad had also noticed that the king had been stressing over small things lately, like when he left the castle without telling him, or when he accepted dangerous missions without discussing it, or even when he actually didn't go anywhere, Yuuri would still be upset if they couldn't meet at least once during the day. Fortunately, he had known the boy well enough to get accustomed to his quirks.

"Do you still want to introduce your friends to me? Are they leaving tomorrow?"

Yuuri shook his head, looking sheepish, "Um, no. You can still meet them tomorrow if you're up for breakfast. I guess."

"I see…" Conrad nodded as he looked down at his legs. They had stopped quivering, at least. Ignoring the almost painful scratch of regret in his chest, he decided that he should send Yuuri back to his room soon if he wanted Yuuri to be up for breakfast as well. "Yuuri… I think…"

"A… oh… Yes?"

"I'm ready… to move to the bed. Can you help me?"

The boy quickly nodded as he stood up and moved to Conrad's side, squatted down and carefully placed Conrad's arm around his shoulders before slowly standing up, trying to balance both of the bodies he was supporting. Feeling Yuuri's determination to escort him safely to the bed made Conrad feel a bit guilty for underestimating the king's strength at the beginning. Yuuri seemed to have sense it as well, as he stopped in the middle of the way to complain.

"Don't be stubborn. Put more weight on me. I CAN carry you, even if you were entirely unconscious right now. I won't let you go."

Finding no energy to fight back, Conrad complied. Besides, his sight, as well his mind, had blurred again so he couldn't really rely on himself to lead their way to the right direction.

As they reached the bed, Yuuri carefully settled him down. At that state, Conrad could no longer keep his eyes open, although he could still feel Yuuri's nimble hands in the middle of his attempt to take his belt and uniform off. Not wanting to make it more difficult for the king, he tried to keep sitting up, using his arms to support his limp upper body on the soft, cold mattress. He knew that it might have been a chance in a lifetime; to have Yuuri in his bedroom in such a compromising situation. Sadly, he was too weary to get excited about it. At the moment, all he wanted was a long, dreamless sleep.

"…Finally…"

Yuuri's huff and the comfortable coolness on his feet indicated that the boy had finally managed to take both of his shoes off. Taking it as a cue that the undressing phase had passed, he finally gave in to his exhaustion and flopped down on the bed, feeling his body relax and his breathing deepen on the verge of his consciousness.

"Really… you could have at least waited until I got both of your feet on the bed before falling asleep…" He could vaguely hear Yuuri's amused voice as the boy lifted each of his leg up on the bed, set the blanket over him and settled the pillow under his head. "There, sleep tight. You look like an angel like this."

Conrad smiled in his sleep at the last statement.

Before the hasty footsteps and the slammed door could be heard, Conrad thought that he felt something soft and warm pressing against his half-parted lips. But then again, it could have just been his alcohol-induced imagination, or his wishful thinking. You could never trust a drunk's senses… could you?

Conrad slept well and dreamt no dreams that night.

XXX

Early in the morning when Anissina's messenger knocked at his door and informed him that his presence was required in her office as soon as possible, Conrad started to think that last night's incident had cost his luck for the entire year. It was, of course, unfair, because he could hardly remember each event in detail. But then again, who was he to oppose Shin Maou's will? The messenger was still escorting him to the place that had been known as second-to-hell, no matter what.

To think that he had run out of luck felt closer to exact when his hangover teamed up with Yozak's eyelashes to ruin his beautiful morning. But Conrad didn't feel so close to exploding until he saw the grand lineup in the freshly built waiting room in front of Anissina's office, and Yozak handing him a queue number. It said: 23 and the blackboard next to the door spelled: 13 and 10. Shin Maou sure knew how to torture. And he sure was His very favorite victim.

XXX

_Wolffie_, being pretty much similar to his 'twin', enjoyed sleeping more than anything else. He was also one of those frea--people who thought that a wide, comfortable bed, soft, puffy pillow and a thick, wonderful blanket made every other earthly leisure device pale in comparison. His bad mood for the entire bad day before had completely vanished the moment Yuuri had shown him the room. The baby he had spent his night with was the most beautiful bed he had ever seen that he _almost_ wanted to marry her. Almost; since he was already married to fair Yoko-chan, his bed in fairy's world.

Well, although he couldn't marry her, Sophia-chan, at least he wanted to savor the moment he had with her. It was when he decided to spend the next several hours with the lovely baby the two troublemakers barged in noisily and greeted him falsely. Why false, cause there was NOTHING good about MORNING!

"Hey! Wolfram! Wolfram!" Troublemaker #1 a.k.a good-for-nothing king shouted in his ear, which he had protectively shielded with Momo-chan, his pillow, "The audition has started! Anissina-san said that we don't have a lot of time, so the casts need to be decided sooner than scheduled! Hurry! You'll be late!"

"I don't care…" The blond stubbornly kept closing his eyes, snuggling in the warmth of lovely Sophia-chan and beautiful Momo-chan, "Leave me alone…"

"Gee, he's just like Wolfram!" He heard troublemaker #1 told troublemaker #2. "What should we do, Murata?"

"Let's see…"

Uh oh no… Not _that_ tone… Not _that_ word…

"Dear Wolffie, we're wondering what we should do to a _bad_ boy… maybe you could give us a clue?"

_Wolffie's_ eyes snapped open, as he quickly stood up and glared at his smirking brother, who apparently had been ready with his disguise. His previously raven-colored hair had turned pale blond, and his gleaming dark eyes had also been covered by a pair of crimson lenses. He was wearing a set of uniform that looked exactly like Yuuri's, only that it was dark brown instead of the pitch black one Yuuri always wore.

"You… you CAN'T say **that**!"

"Oh yes, I can. This is a free nation, you know. You can pretty much say anything as long as you can spell the word right…" The older fairy's smile widened, but for some reasons, it made him look even scarier, "Now that you're awake, perhaps you can get dressed soon? As you have heard, we're quite in a rush here…"

"But I haven't had enough sleep!" Wolfram pouted, suddenly looking like a lost child in front of his brother.

"As I have said, this is a free nation… you're free to do what you think is right… at your own risk…"

"Okay! Okay! I'm getting up!" Wolfram angrily yanked his blanket away and stood up, still glaring at both troublemakers grudgingly. In another 'poof', he already looked as good as new. His rumpled pajamas had been replaced with a set of similar uniform Murata was wearing, "I'm going for the damn audition, but don't think that I'm going try my best to get elected. It was you who decided the role for at the first place although I kept saying 'no'!"

"Fair enough." His brother calmly folded his arms before turning to Yuuri, who had long lost in his own thoughts while he had been trying to 'convince' his brother. The way Yuuri's mind could be seen right through his face was quite amusing.

"Nervous, aren't we?"

Yuuri blushed furiously as he looked up at the crinkling eyes and tried to see if the fairy had seen through his mind, and unluckily came up with a positive answer.

"Relax, I have a feeling that he'll be there." The fairy gave the king's back a soft pat before turning around and making his way to the door, Wolfram following him sullenly from behind.

"…It'd better be true." Yuuri muttered softly as he took another deep breath and trailed his guests' steps.

XXX

After waiting for approximately forty minutes and sixty seconds, Conrad was finally allowed to enter the room and straighten the whole twisted problem. It hadn't taken long for him to realize that all the people who had been queuing in the same room had also been the people who had been summoned in the main performance meeting the day before. Then when he had asked one of the people for the reason why they were there, his suspicion had been confirmed. He, like the others, were there for the audition to decide if they would get to play the role they had requested; which was downright confusing because he didn't remember submitting any application, or requesting any of the roles to Anissina.

As he made his entrance and noted his surroundings, he began to understand why many of the people in the castle referred to Anissina's office as 'second-to-hell'. Sitting in the judges panel, there were his mother, sweetly smiling Gisela, happily winking Yozak and of course, Anissina herself. While each of the judges had impressive track records as rabble-rousers, Conrad only shivered silently as he imagined the damage the four could come up with as they united and worked as a group. Mustering as much of his manly quality as he could, he stepped forward.

"Contestant number 23, Sir Conrad Weller." Anissina, the head of the judges announced as she looked down to her document, "You're requesting Romeo. Is that correct?"

Conrad calmly shook his head, despite the shock the statement had caused him, "I didn't submit any application, and I didn't request for any of the roles."

"That can't be true." Anissina replied, just as calmly, "We have your document right here. That's why we sent a messenger to notify you about this audition."

Conrad tried to take a closer look at the piece of paper Anissina was holding, but he only managed to get a glimpse of it. "I came because your messenger asked me to. I was never informed of the reason for my presence here."

Sensing trouble, Yozak leaned to Anissina's ears and whispered something to her.

It was then Conrad felt Wolfram's cold stabbing glare from behind him. He could only moan mentally as he saw the blond standing by the doorway. Apparently, their numbers had 'accidentally' crossed, and Wolfram happened to be the even-numbered contestant who had to face the judges with him. Life was always unfair, and fate was always cruel. And both of them, like Shin Makoku, hated Conrad.

"I apologize in advance, but I believe that a big misunderstanding occurred here." Conrad's stance remained steady despite Wolfram's intense glare that was starting to make him feel quite nervous. This couldn't be happening to him. Not when he had finally begun to establish a better relationship with his younger brother. Somehow, he could hear it ringing furiously in his ears, that Wolfram would not be able to forgive him forever for this. He was about to lose his brother's love, and it made him mentally shiver. "I have never signed up for the role. I didn't even take the form with me."

"This IS your handwriting, Sir." Anissina pointed out, although Conrad was clearly more interested in winning the glaring competition with Yozak than paying attention to the paper she was showing him, "And your signature is right here. You can't possibly turn back now. It would be a severe violation to the rules."

"In case you still think that the document is mine," Conrad insisted, raising his tone a bit to show his desperate unwillingness, "I still have the right to decide whether I want to continue or not. And I choose to resign. I won't play Romeo."

XXX

Yuuri's hopes shattered along with the words that kept echoing in his ears. He had thought that he had been prepared for the worst, but it was actually a lot more frustrating than what he had expected. Fortunately he still managed to keep himself hidden from everyone's eyes. Deciding that staying would only wound his feelings more, he carefully sneaked back to the hidden door on the southern wall of the office and exited the room.

XXX

Finding Yuuri was actually harder than Murata had expected. He had looked for him in his room, in the backyard garden, in the front gate, every possible place he could think of, and the king had yet to be found. Not wanting to waste more time, he decided to take the last resort: teleportation.

First, he went to a quiet place before closing his eyes and performed the necessary chant. He could feel the king's presence. He was, fortunately, still inside of the castle. After making sure that he wouldn't get dumped in to water again, he raised his wand and 'POOF'ed.

The fact that Yuuri didn't even gasp and look up when he suddenly appeared right in front of him worried Murata more. When a normally noisy person was silent, something was surely wrong.

Taking his time to arrange the words he was about to use to lighten the usually bright boy up, Murata looked around and took note of his surroundings. Being a place within the castle's territory, the small woodland didn't show any signs of being a part of the castle at all. The breeze was cool and the green leaves smelled sweet. At least Yuuri had picked an appropriate place to mourn. Such a peaceful place could cure anyone's broken heart.

"…Could you… let me be… just for a little while?"

Murata didn't show any of his astonishment as he looked down at the boy, who was looking back at him with hopeful eyes.

"You see… I need to… think… just for a while." Yuuri added, sounding uncharacteristically soft, almost weak. "If you don't mind…"

"I'll wait." The boy smiled reassuringly as he sat next to the king and folded his legs, using the same stance as his partner, "Please take your time and think."

Yuuri only nodded.

XXX

"You know,"

Conrad turned to his back and saw Yozak approaching him from the other side of the hall. He pointedly ignored him and turned his eyes back to the garden where Yuuri had picked his flowers for him. Sadly, replaying the event no longer soothed him like before. Even he didn't actually regret what he had said in front of everyone. But with his straight refusal to take the most-wanted role, something still felt very wrong. It was like… he had just made the biggest mistake of his life, although his logic approved his actions as being reasonable and safe.

"When I called you 'stupid masochist', I didn't really mean it." Yozak stopped when he reached the side of his commander and turned his eyes to the same object Conrad was staring at, "…But now I know, you SO deserve it."

"…Was that you?" The brunet asked, while hoping that he sounded threatening enough, "…who copied my handwriting and signature for the document?"

Yozak shrugged, "You're the one who said that one couldn't be blamed for random suspicion alone."

Conrad corrected the statement, but still hadn't lost a bit of his conviction. Of all the people in the castle, or even in Shin Makoku, Yozak was the only one who could imitate his writing to almost perfection. He still remembered how the man had caused quite a ruckus in the castle back then when they had still been small, by imitating his handwriting and writing a letter saying that he had run away from the castle. After that, he had returned from another field trip with his father only to find the soldiers running around trying to find the "missing prince". When Yozak had sneaked in to his room in the middle of the night to tell him that the morning's commotion had been his work, Conrad had only looked at him in bewilderment for a moment before cracking up and laughing with the utmost sincerity. Sadly, Conrad didn't know if he could respond the same way this time, since the prank was no longer cute. It was getting dangerous. And Conrad began to think that Yozak wouldn't understand unless he told him the reason.

"Yozak, I…"

"It's the boy."

Conrad looked up in disbelief, "…What…"

"In return for taking the major female role, the boy asked us to get you to play Romeo for him." Yozak continued calmly, as his eyes slowly turned from the garden to the widening brown orbs, "…I thought you'd be sharp when it came to him. I just can't believe you would still waste the time to be in denial, Commander."

XXX

"So… he rejected it…" Murata couldn't hold back a sigh, although he had expected something like that to happen, knowing Conrad's difficult personality. "…Why do you think he did it?"

Yuuri nibbled his lower lip before answering weakly, "…He… doesn't want to get paired up with me?"

"Exactly," Murata stretched his legs, feeling the slightly damp grass through his trousers, "and why do you think he doesn't want to?"

"That's…" Yuuri frowned and struggled to see past his gloom, "…I see." Oddly enough, the truth didn't seem to have lightened the boy's mood.

The fairy turned to the king and saw the boy king's expression darken, "Now that you know the truth, are you still blaming him for what he did?"

"I don't…" A pause. A sigh. "…Okay, I did… blame him…" Another pause "…a little."

Murata's amused chuckle could be heard, after a moment of silence. However, the short moment had somehow purified the heavy atmosphere around them.

"It's NOT that amusing." Yuuri protested, feeling the blush warming up his face, "I know I am being selfish. I'm aware that I'm making it difficult between him and his brother but I still don't think that his actions were reasonable."

"I see." Murata's red eyes gleamed in excitement. "What is the reasonable action to you then?"

"Maybe you'll understand if I tell you everything that has happened during the past several weeks…" The king sighed as he leaned his back on the tree trunk behind them, stretching his legs and trying to get in to the most comfortable position possible, "You know… things… just… happened. Since the 'thing' you wrote on my arm disappeared, I…"

"I thought it remained?" Murata almost sounded guiltless, almost.

"It DID. But when I checked it again in the morning, it had vanished!" Yuuri sounded like he was blaming the fairy for all the troubles, "It was when I realized that… I have been having those 'feelings' for him for a while now."

"You sure it isn't mere infatuation? After all, he's good-looking, nice, and all…" Murata smiled solemnly, only to receive another 'Are you kidding me?' look from the supposedly infatuated king.

"I wouldn't have gone this far without making sure of it myself." Yuuri's voice was too firm that it sounded somehow out of character. Or maybe it was just a glimpse of his kingly-quality? "I've never been this certain about anything else before."

Nobody but his stepbrother would be able to see the change in his expression, but Murata was certain that he had never seen this side of his ex-master before, and it was just plain exciting, to watch and see what the unpredictable human was capable of doing, despite his limitations.

"Seeing how certain you are, I'm surprised that you haven't jumped him." He could no longer maintain his nonchalant attitude, and was now staring back at the darkened orbs in pure delight.

"Well…" Yuuri returned to his old self as he scratched the back of his head with a sheepish smile, "Actually, I have been… how to put it… '_approaching'_ him for the past few weeks…"

To think that someone as oblivious and carefree as Yuuri had actually had the nerve to take the first move, perhaps Yuuri was no longer the boy he had known.

"Sometimes he responded positively, I mean, he could be quite welcoming, and made me feel like dragging him to my room, closing the door behind us, locking it up, telling him about everything I felt for him…" The rest of the activities in the healthy male teenager's imagination were left unspoken, "But most of the time… he just… left at the _very_ compromising moment! Like when we talked about his dreary love-life. He said that he was satisfied with his life and didn't intend to find someone. I said that it was time for him, seeing his age… you know, he is not as young as he looks (my mom would faint on the spot if she found out that I like a MUCH older MALE… She likes Conrad so I don't think it'll be a big problem, but still… to become the-mysterious-gorgeous-man-who suggested-his-son's-name's mother-in-law…)"

Murata only nodded understandingly. Yuuri wasn't very good at explaining things, but luckily, he was sharp enough to see the whole problem almost instantly.

"Then he told me that he wouldn't be able to spend much time with me if he got himself a girlfriend… and I thought it was my chance, so I told him 'To save us from all of these problems, why won't you date me instead?'"

The fairy refrained from rolling his eyes, feeling incredibly stupid for hoping so much from the king before.

"And his reaction?" He asked apathetically.

"He only smiled, stood up, and left, saying that he had forgotten to submit some document to Gwendal."

Okay, he wasn't hoping much from Conrad either, but he couldn't help thinking that with the almost balanced rate of social-skills, the couple really deserved each other.

"To know that you've been approaching him in _that_ way, it no longer surprises me that you two haven't been all over each other by now." He deadpanned. Yuuri looked vaguely insulted by his honest comment.

"So you have some better suggestions?"

"The play," Murata quickly replied, "It's a big chance for you to approach him, in a more proper way."

Yuuri was wearing the similar 'Duh!' expression he had displayed before, "He refused, remember?"

Murata only looked up at the tree they had been leaning on, ignoring the obvious puzzlement in Yuuri's face. As if on cue, the other fairy jumped down and landed in front of them, looking somehow smug at the gape in Yuuri's face at his flashy movement.

Murata threw his brother a half-lidded glare, "Eavesdropping is against rule number two-hundred-six, you know."

"Not here." The other fairy replied, returning the glare.

"Still, you've violated the unspoken rule of privacy."

"Drop those damn rules, jerk."

"Only if you'll listen to what I am to say."

Both boys' eyes were now focused on the smiling fairy, as he stood up, and gestured to the others to follow him.

"I know you're still upset about Sir Conrad, but I suppose you should forgive him, after what you stole from him last night."

Yuuri's skin colored from head to toe, almost instantly. "At least I refrained from molesting him…" He muttered to himself almost inaudibly, as he took a step away, in an attempt to escape Wolfram's disbelieving stare.

"It's true that Sir Conrad had refused the opportunity flat out. Unfortunately, it's not him who gets to decide whether he's in the show or not."

Murata finally showed the ambiguous side of himself with a wide smile. Yuuri was blinking as he thought he saw Murata as a fallen angel, while his brother's face was turning blue at the imaginary horns on the older fairy's head.For the first time during the whole miserable adventure, Wolfram was starting to regret his decision to tag along.

"You have helped us a lot. It's time for us to repay your kindness." The look on the king's face started to convince Murata that his halo, that had to be blinking golden, was showing over his head. "Please leave the matter to us. You can return to the audition room now and wait."

Yuuri wanted to ask why, but Murata didn't spend anymore time waiting for his answer. The eyeglass-wearing boy only turned to his brother with a wider smirk, making the other shiver in response.

"As for you, wait here. We'll speak."

Of course Wolfram knew that there would be more than 'speaking' (perhaps, 'scheming'). Damn, he knew that he shouldn't have neglected his teleportation class back then…

XXX

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

Hi Everyone! This is ProudSnapist, Ami-chan's newest Beta :grins: I am uploading Ami's new chapter for her since there are comp complications on her side of the 'net. We wanted to apologize for the slow update, but school and basically RL intervened quite evilly. I just wanted to say I hope everyone enjoys this chapter. We worked hard on it, especially Ami since right now is her Finals. So let's all give her our blessings and best wishes for a great and successful finals week! Have fun with this chapter!

AXIOMATIC Chapter Three – Fair Juliet Slap Me, Please! A Sequel of Heels Over Head **A ConYuu Fan-fiction**

By: Ami

Beta-reader: **ProudSnapist** a.k.a **Sherlockian Slytherin**

Alternate Universe, spoilers in later chapters, maybe

_Specially dedicated to_:** Prosopopeia**, those arts _are_ inspirations. –grins-

A deep gratitude goes for **pheecat** for her powerful encouragement.

**Special Note: **(**i**) means you'll find more information about the marked item at the end of the story. Better read it later to not spoil the plot, though.

I apologize that what was previewed in the previous chapter couldn't make it in to this one, since it'll be too long for one chapter. Let's save the fun for the next one, okay? –insert a smiley here- Thanks.

Standard disclaimers apply.

XXX

Our lives are filled with turbulent ups and downs. The old adage, 'life is like a wheel,' never seems more accurate than when we are experiencing the good and bad times in our lives.

For Gwendal, personally, the 'up time' was the gloriously peaceful time when Anissina was out of his room, out of his range, out of the castle, or out of his life; whether going for a research trip or on a official mission he wasn't particularly picky about the reasons why. Grudgingly, he had to admit that without Anissina at the castle, the atmosphere seemed to have a monochrome effect, but who cared about shades and colors when he could be knitti---working in peace without having a spork held dangerously close above his lovely Uma-kun's frail ears and various blackmail materials being whispered oh-so-sweetly to his ear?

Yes, life was definitely 'up' when Anissina wasn't around, and time would finally bring Gwendal back to the longed 'up'… soon. At least that was what Gwendal struggled to believe, or at the very best effort one could muster when one's younger brother happened to pick one's room to mourn over his supposedly lost fiancé, staying uncharacteristically silent when he should have been ranting and screaming and crying.

This thought would never be voiced in to words, but it actually doubled Gwendal's worries when Wolfram wasn't being his usual self. The thoughtful look on his sullen face didn't explain a thing. His foot wasn't tapping on the floor, like what he used to do when he felt anxious. He was just sitting there, in his guest seat, looking down (literally), as if trying to convince Gwendal that the tile pattern he had picked for his floor was more inspirational than his face. Regarding the spreading rumor that someone who looked _exactly_ like Wolfram had appeared in the castle, Gwendal began to wonder if the person he was facing was really his brother.

"How long are you going to stay here, Wolfram?" Just checking, if he responded to his name.

"What…Oh… Yes?"

The delayed response was kind of suspicious, but the moment their eyes met, Gwendal knew that he wasn't an imposter. Second to Cheri, Wolfram had the most beautiful eyes in the whole nation. Nobody would have been able to counterfeit them.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to bother you." It seemed the information had actually reached his brain, "I'll leave in a moment and…"

"Do whatever you want." Gwendal reached for Hippy-chin, the newest member of his Cute Stuffed Animal Federation. The grinning purple hippopotamus looked awfully cheerful on such a bad day. "I was just checking if you had fallen asleep or not."

Wolfram's lips had tugged up in a slight, very slight smile. Gwendal could never stay upset when he saw this beam in his little brother's face. It was about the only thing that reminded him that this boy, no matter how much of an annoying brat he had grown up to be, was still the same little boy who had always looked up to him as if he had been the center of his universe.

"Are you leaving?" Gwendal frowned as his younger brother stood up and left his seat, hoping that Wolfram hadn't sensed his disappointment.

"Yes. I'm done here."

Gwendal's frown deepened. He hadn't seen any activities that could have been '_done'_.

"Sorry to have bothered you, Brother. I… uh…" The boy smiled sheepishly as he reached for the doorknob and prepared to flee, "I… it's just hard imagining what you would do in my situation since I can't really see you be… umm… no, I mean… well… see you at lunch."

It took Gwendal a minute to process the information in his brain, and another minute to finally form a smile that would have eradicated any innocent passer-bys with its sweetness. His hand left his pen once more to find its way to the drawer and to pull it open. The stuffed white animal came back in view, as he ran his fingers to feel its soft fur under his skin.

_He hasn't changed at all…_ His thumb touched the gouge that was supposed to be the right eye of the mysteriously shaped animal, _just like before… the two of them…_

The scene was about to fade to Gwendal's reminiscing when the door was suddenly clicked open and closed again in a blow of cold wind behind his neck. Both eyes widened with wariness, Gwendal found himself immobile and speechless when he suddenly came face-to-face with flickering red eyes.

"I'm not very good at this, so you'd better stay still," The familiar voice hesitated for a moment before adding softly, "for your own safety."

A moment later, the scene, along with the last bit of Gwendal's awareness, blacked out.

XXX

Things should never be dull when you're sitting in the judges panel, watching Maou-obsessed fanboys and girls making futile attempts to impress you in to giving them a chance to get a good grope or more on their nation's leader's respective body-parts. In her current blissful state, there were only three things that Anissina regretted during the whole audition. First was, of course, Conrad's insistence to pass on his "golden ticket". She had sent Yozak to work on the problem, but she wasn't very sure that it would work. Aside from being Conrad's most trusted subordinate, the redhead was also infamous for his ability to easily get on Conrad's nerves, _so_ easily that it was dangerously unhealthy. She had heard that it had something to do with Yozak's eyelashes, but she just didn't feel like hearing the rest of the story.

The second was Gwendal's absence. She had managed to 'convince' him to at least sign up for one 'small' role. For Shin Maou's sake, she had even 'helped' him fill the forms and submit it in her own office, and the man, _that_ stupid ungrateful person who called himself a _man_ had had the nerve to not show up for the audition.

Absolutely. _Unforgivable_.

Anissina made a mental note to take Gisela with her for more 'conviction' later. It was probably a good idea to make the doctor bring her syringe as well.

Not wanting to fail his two older brothers, Wolfram also made his appearance as the third problem-maker. Upon hearing their whole conversation with Conrad, he exploded in front of everyone, especially at her, for not fulfilling Conrad's wish to resign and instead, gave the man some time to think over his decision. Having anticipated that much, Cheri's presence became very helpful. One might doubt the blonde's maternal quality, but when Conrad was the object of Wolfram's fury and Gwendal was out of reach, and the enraged boy looked like he was about to glare her in to a pile of charcoal, that one would undoubtedly feel thankful when the ex-Maou finally managed to escort him out of the room for a little 'parental talk'.

"He'll get over it," Anissina's tone was steady as she returned Gisela's concerned look with a smile, "Everyone does."

Gisela opened her mouth to respond, but quickly closed it again as a familiar figure stepped in to the room through the hidden door, looking somewhat bewildered, anxious and embarrassed. The young king's eyes looked as though they were going to bulge out of their sockets from shock and anxiety at any moment now. Anissina wasn't sure about the anxiety, but at least she knew how to make him stop gaping.

"Okay, boys. Enough is enough. Get yourselves a room and another willing audience. It was a good show, but we're not here to comply with your kinkiness."

Yuuri kept protecting his previously innocent eyes until the smooching, groping and licking bishounens left the room, hands still on each other.

"I assume you're here for an inspection, Your Majesty?" Anissina's smile was bright, innocent and sincere. Yuuri would have put more faith in it if he hadn't witnessed the crime she had just committed.

"I…" For a moment, Yuuri looked unsure if he wanted to stay and watch the torture or retreat to his room for blessed peace and silence.

_Wait in the audition room and don't go anywhere until I tell you so._

Recalling Murata's stern order, he resigned to his fate and nodded. Anissina's smirk only broadened as she reached for a controller that looked suspiciously like a PS2 game pad. After pushing several buttons with incredible speed that would have been able to discharge a triple-combo attack, a fifth chair emerged from the floor on the right side of the panel, next to Cheri's empty seat. Yuuri only stood in his place dumbly until Gisela waved her hand and gestured him to take a seat.

"Perfect timing, Your Majesty, we're kind of short-staffed at this moment."

Gisela handed Yozak's assessment sheet in front of the king, not sparing him one moment to sigh properly. When he looked down at the carelessly scribbled sheet, Yuuri found that there was no real _system_ in deciding the casts. Anissina was the system and rules, and the other judges' opinions actually didn't matter unless Anissina thought that they made sense and followed them, while ties and other complicated conditions would be solved by… lottery.

"When people with the same brilliance and good looks are gathered together, what makes better competition than a contest of good luck?" explained Anissina calmly when Yuuri complained about the method. Grudgingly, he had to admit that it kinda made sense... in a twisted way or two.

"Besides," Gisela added cheerfully, "Anissina-san has especially constructed a machine for the lottery. I tried it once yesterday, and it's really fun! I haven't worked up such a great sweat in any kind of exercises lately, so I got a bit worried about my waistline and…"

Yuuri tried to think positively that the machine Gisela referred to was _surely_ a happy, normal-looking lottery wheel. But then again, 'normal' lottery wheel shouldn't have required that much energy… right? Never mind his mother's over-enthusiasm whenever she went for one and came back home with a bagful of toilet papers.

"…It's really, really exciting! We're thinking of making it one of the main attractions of Shin Makoku after a few more experiments, and we were thinking of the _warnings_ we should place at the entrance," Gisela paused for a moment, still not paying any attention to her king's greenish face, "I personally think that no kid under twelve should be riding on _that_ thing, anyway… unless they feel suicidal… you know, teenagers nowadays have no respect towards their own health… being anorectic…"

There went the very last bit of Yuuri's hope. And oh, was that a pair of pretty white wings on it? Or was it the major nerves of his brain in disguise? Cause Yuuri was pretty sure that he couldn't feel anything alive in his scalp at the moment…

While Yuuri was squinting at microscopically suspicious writing that kinda looked like his, Conrad's name and a cute heart symbol at the corner of the incredibly rumpled paper, the next two contestants had entered the chamber and were currently standing in the middle of the room. One of them was bouncing happily in anticipation, while the other suppressed a smile at the amusing sight of the frazzled king's face. It took Anissina calling both names twice before Yuuri fully comprehended the whole situation and directed a shocked gaze at the smiling candidate.

"Hi to you too, King Yuuri." Murata waved his hand amiably, "Isn't the weather nice outside?"

Yuuri glared at him in disbelief. How could the fairy be talking about the weather so cheerfully after leaving him drowning in anxiety like that? However, before he could let any of his screaming curiosity out, Anissina had declared that they couldn't waste anymore time chattering instead of auditioning. So he sat back down, still glancing at the smiling fairy anxiously. Gisela scribbled down 'loveably cunning' in her sheet immediately.

"Ooh, Your Majesty! You've come yourself to observe this Unworthy Gunter! I'm so happy!"

Gunter was all prepared to jump him when Anissina grabbed the silver-haired man's wrist just in time, gesturing him to return to his place with her most convincing smile of impending doom. Yuuri couldn't help but forgive Anissina despite all the plights she had brought upon him for the small, but meaningful action.

"Murata Ken, I suppose?" Anissina put on her glasses and returned the boy's polite smile, "You're King Yuuri's friend who he introduced to all of us last night, aren't you? I hope you're having a good time here?"

"Yes, mostly." The boy's friendly glance was now directed to the visibly sweating king, "My brother and I plan to stay here until the end of the festival. It'd be a great honor to be able to help with the main performance. I'm aware that this party is very important for Shin Makoku."

"It'll be a shame to involve an honorable guest like you in our country's internal predicament, but I personally don't think we can help it. We need people like you." Anissina looked pleased. Murata's extensive knowledge on science and technology had greatly impressed her during their previous night's conversation. Yuuri thought that Anissina was more interested in having Murata as her assistant director than one of the 'small' casts he had applied for, but Yuuri really hadn't had much choice but to copy Gisela's sheet. He still didn't know that much of Shin Makoku letterings yet.

"I'm flattered, Lady Anissina. And I'm willing to help as much as I can. Consider me one of your trusted allies. I shall not disappoint you and your beloved nation." Murata bowed down courteously and threw another smile to Yuuri's direction, "After all, as His Majesty's good friend, this is the least I can do."

"Excellent." Anissina scribbled something down on her sheet before turning to the sullen Gunter, "Why, you look especially glowing today, Sir Gunter."

"You look as stunning as ever, Lady Anissina." Gunter seemed to think that acting as gentlemanly as he could would bring him one step closer to his longed Romeo role. He indeed looked particularly gorgeous and gleaming at the moment that it was almost unearthly. It was hard to imagine a more pristine and saintly picture than the figure Gunter was striking at the moment. The unearthly gleam seemed to be radiating from his porcelain white skin. Yuuri started blinking and rubbing his eyes as the light above Gunter's head shone impossibly brighter.

"I must say that I'm very impressed with your behavior today." Anissina smiled cheerfully, "Your saintly aura has touched my heart. I've made up my mind. _The Nurse _(**i**) is yours."

In less than a moment, the mentioned saintly aura had faded, replaced by a thick, dark, gloomy, and severely morose one.

Yuuri was suddenly convinced that he was indeed a demon king with special gifts when he noticed that nobody else had (or at least shown that they) felt the dramatic change of atmosphere.

"But 'Lady' Anissina, that's not the role I requested in my application!" Gunter whined.

"Oh, that's not a problem. After all, it has been mentioned in the enclosed one-hundred-and-one guidelines and rules that judges have absolute authority to decide the casts. And there's no amount of debate or compromising that can trump _MY_ say-so, Sir Gunter." Anissina mildly replied as she scribbled down on her sheet, "Unless you want to use your entitlement to decline this role, you're allowed to leave the performance and _never_ to stand on the same stage as His Majesty."

Gunter's heart was shattered at the cruel woman's words. He had read the brief information for each cast to know that the nurse was the one who encouraged Romeo and Juliet together. Even if it was just an act, how did Anissina expect him to see his beloved king marry someone else, let alone helping the marriage? Shin Maou, bless this evil woman and aid her repentance, please! Love shall triumph eventually! One day… one day…

Gunter became even more devastated as he realized that the king hadn't been paying attention to him at all. Instead, Yuuri was dragging his special guest away to a corner, unaware of the curious stares he was gaining and the sudden silence that fell once their slender figures disappeared behind the large bookshelf.

XXX

It is qualified common sense that the best thing to do to calm a panicking comrade down is to stay calm or at least pretend that you are.

That was why Murata found it a bit unsettling that the more composed his expression was, the more fretful his ex-master became. Well, at least he refrained from taking a deep frustrated sigh like what he had done the first time he had realized that customary logic rarely worked on Yuuri and the people around him. It was kind of self-insulting, but it was okay, since Murata always believed in that little speck of masochism in the corner of his mind.

"How is everything going? What's your plan?" Yuuri looked like someone who was about to kick the vending machine that refused to give the drink out after coins had been properly inserted, "What are you doing here, anyway? I thought you and Wolfram—I mean Wolffie were going to…"

"It's okay, Yuuri. There's no need to worry." Murata mentally patted his head for managing to restrain another urge to sigh, "I've arranged everything. My brother should be able to handle the job just fine."

"What job is it? What are you going to do? Come on, tell me!"

…Or maybe it was a better idea to sigh and show the king that he was a little bit concerned as well. It might work as inverted logic.

"Hopefully, my stupid brother won't mess up and will be coming here with Sir Conrad soon." He rolled his eyes as he recalled their sweet stepbrother-stepbrother conversation among the woods before this. With the blue sky, white clouds above their heads, and the birds that were chirping in the background, things couldn't get more dramatic. Except when some misplaced thunder howled noisily right as he briefed his younger fairy about his plan.

He looked up again warily before starting his explanation, exhaling in relief at the ceilings above them. Just in case.

XXX

_Wolffie_ cursed, cursed, and cursed more. He had always hated the subject, second to teleportation. Murata had made it look easy, but it was actually harder than he expected, having to suppress someone else's mind while he was 'borrowing' the body for the time being while having to concentrate and keep walking to the right direction and minding bothersome people who always stopped, called and tried everything they could to delay his freedom.

_Damn this Conrad person,_ He decided to stop for a while to keep the mind in check. This person was actually more stubborn than he would like. He almost lost the body several times during the short trip. _Concentrate… concentrate… concen…_

"…Are you okay?"

Wolffie cursed again, now verbally, as his eyes snapped open, widening a bit before narrowing again significantly in annoyance.

"I'm fine." He replied curtly as he brushed the concerned stranger's hand off, "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to attend the audition before it closes."

He stomped forward without looking back again, and cursed, and cursed and cursed…

"Wait a minute, I was about to go there too. Let's go together."

…And cursed.

XXX

"You told Wolffie to _possess_ MY Conrad!"

It was positive that Yuuri was the only one who didn't realize that he had said the capitalized word. Murata personally thought that it was merely the reflection of his inner jealousy for the 'privilege' his little brother had been frantically screaming about, though.

"But… but… but… what is he going to do! W-w-w-with Conrad's body… (nothing x-rated I hope…)"

"Don't worry. He'll take very good care of him. Despite his… appearance, Wolfram is actually pretty reliable." he smiled cheerfully, making the king's face turn even paler, "He'll just make sure that Sir Conrad enters the audition and will not be able to change his decision again."

"You mean…"

"Yes, since we can't _convince_ him, the only resort would be by force, and it was the least violent action under the 'by force' category I could think of." Murata explained carefully, aware of Yuuri's extreme fixation towards 'JUSTICE', which was one of the vaguest phrases in his own logic.

Quickly taking in Yuuri's darkened expression, he swiftly added, "Look, I understand that you want him to stand up and say with his own mouth and his own mind that he wants you, and the role (at least for now). If you want me to cancel the plan, I'll do it. But then, you won't be able to get what you want. Not that I'm saying that there's no other approach to 'approach' Sir Conrad, but then it'll take more time and patience. Is that how you want it to be?"

Yuuri's face softened in understanding, "But… well… wouldn't it be cheating?"

The fairy only chuckled softly. "Being smart enough to think up a shortcut solution for better results within ethical constraints is _not_ cheating. Besides, it's not like we're making him do something he doesn't want."

The king looked fairly more relieved and less guilt-ridden (after deliberately trying to ignore whether or not knocking someone unconscious and taking over their body was _within_ ethical constraints) by the time Yozak announced his arrival loudly, grumbling something about 'stubborn blockhead' and 'ungrateful prick' as he sighed with exaggerated wound up noises.

Yuuri took a peek at the main area and saw a rather disheveled-looking Yozak retaking his seat while talking to Anissina with a suspiciously wide grin and newly acquired minor bruises on his face. He could hear Anissina asking him if 'things' had gone wrong, but the male redhead chose silence until the door was once more creaked open, revealing the three infamously striking princes of Shin Makoku. They shone so brightly that even Gunter's infamous golden halo turned pale in comparison. Yuuri's heart skipped another beat as his eyes fell on a certain brunet, who looked as shimmering as the first time they had met. If it had really been _Wolffie_ in the body, the fairy was doing a good job imitating Conrad's behavior excellently. He wondered why Gwendal looked slightly more peeved than usual, though.

"What a nice surprise, to have the three of you at the same time here for our audition. The rule states only two contestants at a time, but as I'm the rule here and I say that the three of you are exceptions, this condition shall be pardoned." Anissina looked very pleased with herself as Gunter started mewling pathetically, wondering why the Maou hadn't done anything about this injustice.

"I can wait outside and go in with the next contestant later." Conrad helpfully offered. It was at this point when everyone noticed that despite being slightly better than Yozak, the man also looked oddly tousled. Several upper buttons of his uniform top was undone, the neckline of his white shirt was loosened, exposing a little too much of sweat-glistening smooth pale skin and well-toned muscles. His conventionally neat and properly combed chocolate hair also showed its rebellious nature, sticking out in places it where wasn't used to be and damp in some other precise spots, making an unquestionably deadly combination with his vaguely winded state and half-lidded eyes.

Murata held on the king's arm just in time before the lovesick boy got entirely taken over by his lovesick-reduced mind and staggered out of his hideout like a bloodthirsty zombie. Anissina returned Yozak's tired but satisfied glance with a genuine appreciation in her smile. Gunter looked down at his tightly knotted collar in contemplation, wondering if loosening it would gain his beloved king's attention the same way. Gisela exercised her super eyesight on the bookshelf. Soon becoming aware of the way people were staring at him, Conrad thoughtfully fixed his appearance as well as he could without a mirror. As all the buttons went back boringly knotted, everyone snorted in disappointment, but at least their minds were back to the audition.

"Don't bother. This is like the perfect place and time for you. The three of you." Anissina rubbed her hands together in anticipation, sensing great entertainment closing by, "So, may I take your order now?"

The three princes looked at each other before stepping forward and starting their speech differently, yet simultaneously.

"I want to sign up for…"

"Give me the goddamn…"

"I'll accept the audition for the…"

"—Romeo role!"

Being the infamously different brothers, the identically stunned expression on their faces was almost as surprising as the fact that the three of them had just declared war against each other for becoming the king's 'knight'. As their voices echoed in the large chamber and finally rang in their ears, they paused and looked at each other again in utter disbelief.

Well, precisely, Conrad and Wolfram were staring at Gwendal, while Gwendal repeatedly switched his gaze from one brother to the other, looking remarkably innocent for someone who had just provoked heart failure to several delicate people in the room.

Looking at the bemused 'Gwendal' in the eyes, Murata inwardly brought a hand to rub his temples and moaned.

So much for a reliable brother.

XXX

And so, after a series of complicated, confusing and oddly-long-in-duration events, Yuuri found himself standing at the top of the newly built inspection tower, looking down at the altered hill, which its name was fifty-three-letters long without spaces, and without its middle and last names. The huge cylindrical lottery wheel machine stood on the top of the hill in its unspeakable grace, unnerving anyone who tried to predict the size of its lottery balls. But what was even more unnerving than the nightma—-I mean, scientifically correct machine itself ironically turned out to be the three x three-foot warning board on the wall, which inoffensively said:

BEFORE YOU RIDE ON THE ATTRACTION:

1. Pay for the ticket

2. Pay your insurance premium

3. Take care of yourself

4. Good bye!

Murata, again, saved the day by grabbing Yuuri's collar before he could rush down the stairs and march straight to the main lottery area.

"Where do you think you're going? The game is going to start soon."

"I'M GOING TO SAVE THEM! THEY'RE GOING TO DIE! WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE--"

"It's the stupid warning, isn't it?" Murata rolled his eyes, "Ignore it. I asked Anissina-san and she said that the 'good bye' actually meant 'leave this place at once after you're done because the attraction is over the side, dimwit'."

"How about the 'pay your insurance premium', then!"

Murata's voice was rich with amusement, "The main sponsor of this attraction is a rather significant insurance company. I thought that even _you_ would have realized it by now after shaking hands with its executive manager."

"What! That bald old man!"

"Yes. And that's a bit too loud just now, Shibuya…"

"And he's also the one who invented the slogan 'live well, die rich'?"

"Yes, and you're still too loud…"

"…It's good we're not using that one."

A deep sigh. "…Yes."

Yuuri fell quiet for a moment in contemplation before turning his black puppy eyes back to the smiling fairy, "Can't they just put on 'see you later' or 'the attraction is that way' for the last warning?"

"I'm sure they could. But not now when everybody is busy. Just sit back, be a good king and enjoy the show." Murata pulled the king back to their row of seats and pushed him toward his royal and extravagantly cushioned seats when the other boy's tense back refused to cooperate.

In a rather peaceful moment, they sat together side by side in silence, looking down at the busy workers who were completing the lottery track, which trailed down from an opening where the ball would come out from to a small pond on the foot of the hill. The attraction looked pretty much ready after a huge net was set several feet under the water to assure some 'iron-hammer' contestants' safety and 'catch' the ball so as to not harm any lingering wildlife in the pond. A moment later, Anissina declared a ten-minute break through her gigantic sound system before the competition was officially started. Murata rested his back on his seat, closing his eyes and inhaling deeply. Yuuri squinted at a brown stick figure he assumed as Conrad's minimized figure at the contestant tower on the other side of the hill.

"So… Conrad changed his mind."

Murata straightened back up and glanced at him, clearly interested in the topic.

"Makes it easier for you to forgive my stupid brother?"

Yuuri quickly shook his head and smiled, "No, no, I'm not blaming him. It's my own fault. I just realized that I've never introduced you to Gwendal and Conrad. They were both absent at the dinner."

"Well, actually most of the mistake is mine." Murata replied impishly, "Sir Gwendal and Sir Conrad sat next to each other at the 50-best-looking people meeting, when I pointed him out to Wolfram. I didn't go into details and kinda just pointed at his direction (plus, your dress was quite distracting). I figured he knew him for sure from your…"

The fairy paused awkwardly. The king's wide eyes were inquiring.

The human tongue is so slippery; it's actually getting dangerous… 

"My what?" Yuuri leaned closer, looking dangerously curious, "Wolfram knows about Conrad?"

"Well of course he has. Have you any idea how famous Sir Conrad is? He's like… the most popular bachelor in the whole nation! Every girl (and boy) dreams of occupying that empty side in his bed every night!" Murata inwardly giggled at the priceless look on Yuuri's face, "Not that I'm implying that you're not as popular. But since you got yourself a fiancé right after coming here, people think that you're no longer available. People in this country are just too decorous to be robbing someone from his fiancé, Sir Conrad included, I think…"

"That engagement was accidental!" Yuuri spurted out in panic, "How if I slap you right now? Would you consider it a proposal too?"

Murata brought two hands up on to his cheeks protectively, "I'm not ready for domestic marital squabbles, so please don't?"

Yuuri turned his face away in embarrassment. "You're not exactly the one I want to slap anyway."

"Yep, unlucky me." Murata lowered his hands, patting himself for the distraction well done, "By the way, how was your conversation with Sir Conrad?"

Murata blamed his itching contacts for being careless enough to let the boy flee unnoticed to have a one-on-one mysterious conversation with the object of his severe infatuation. And he hadn't even had a chance to tag along and overhear the conversation! What a waste of great entertainment!

"Well…"

Yuuri's expression could be categorized as 'awkward', but it didn't really seem so. It was more like a mix of hesitancy, sadness, confusion and denial. Normal people would have felt guilty at this point for those 'shady' thoughts, but it only made Murata feel even more curious. Luckily for Yuuri, the fairy tended to be more understanding when he was curious. He always believed in second chances, when things were surely to get even better, crispier and tastier than their predecessors. There was no hurry to find out. Go slow, but sure. Murata nodded approvingly to the new quote of life that was so well written.

"Everything is going to be all right." He smiled his best 'I'm-your-bestest-friend-so-you-can-trust-me-with-all-your-darkest-secrets' smile, "I'm sure that Anissina-san has arranged everything for your convenience. She doesn't look like a person who takes back her promises."

"I'm sure of that." Had Yuuri meant to be sarcastic, he didn't show any indication, "By the way, aren't you worried about Wolfram? Actually, Wolffie, I mean… he's occupying Gwendal's body right now and I can somehow imagine how hard it is to control it…"

"Don't bother worrying about a capable person like him. He's not the type who'll screw up twice in a day." Murata waved his hand dismissively as he lay back on his chair and rested his eyes again. The contacts were getting dry and they were starting to itch again. "After all, it's more interesting this way, don't you think?"

Yuuri returned the other boy's drowsy smile before turning his attention back to the brown stick figure and dreamily replayed the image of disheveled Conrad over and over.

XXX

To any common person's eyes, what they saw would still be the very same scene they saw everyday. Conrad was still smiling, although some mysterious phenomenon had drastically enhanced his manly quality, thus in turn obscured his usual gentlemanly attributes to half the usual. Wolfram looked grumpy and anxious, which was pretty much acceptable, for his dear fiancé's chastity was put on the line; and Gwendal was still being his sexily antagonistic, standoffish, 'I'm-a-sugar-deprived-bastard'-self.

Had someone actually tried to be more observant (and had not collapsed from blood loss, yet), they might have been able to remove layer after layer of the three princes' stunning charade and see the surprising truths under the surface. They'd be able to learn that, yes, Conrad was smiling, but he had also seemed to have forgotten the rich vocabulary he used to possess for over a century other than 'oh', 'yes' and 'I understand'. They'd also be surprised to know that, yes, Wolfram looked grumpy and ready to devour any unfortunate souls which came in his way, but it was only the small effect of losing his afternoon nap. And they would definitely faint on the spot to discover the real reasons for 'Gwendal's' frowns and improved glares, other than being unhappy with the rest of the world, at that.

Boring traditionalists saw the 'Gwendal' who refused to respond at the repeated calling of his name as another implication of his grave mood, which usually equaled a royal evacuation from his castle or a new batch of stuffed animals (pigs and bears were preferred). It was, after all, uncustomary to respond to someone else's name, especially when one was in the strenuous process of discovering fresh, innovative, and highly effective verbal aggressions for compromising future use. If only others were more observant and considerate, they would've noticed the odd behavior.

Sadly for _Wolffie_, Anissina was merely creative, and nothing else.

"GWENDAL!"

Like other normal people with healthy ears and like those who had just been snapped out of their most intense daydreams, Wolffie let out an appropriately low manly squeak (as low and manly as a squeak could possibly be) before stumbling down from his seat and landing on his face on the floor, breaking the shrill competitive tension in the room. Several ignorant people had had both hands on their stomachs, getting prepared for the grand laughter of their lives until the chill behind their necks warned them about how close they were to having the grand and very last mirth of their short and sorry lives.

"Nice to have you back on earth," He pointedly ignored the redhead lady's offered helping hand and just got up before glaring at the megaphone in her other hand.

"What do you want?"

Anissina took a second glance and made sure that the man was talking to her, not the megaphone.

"It's important to listen to the briefing to prevent unnecessary hazards." She replied calmly as she raised the megaphone again and exclaimed, "You don't want to die before seeing His Majesty in costume again, do you? I bet on the real stage the make up and special effects would be even more splendid! You DON'T want to die before attending the festival!"

A loud cheer was the positive answer. Like other ecstatic fans, Wolffie also found the promise of seeing a cross-dressing Yuuri quite… tolerable, only that he still had the responsibility to return the body as undamaged as possible. He kept both hands on both ears until he was sure that Anissina was back at the podium to resume whatever briefing she had started a moment before. Ooh, he _so_ wanted to see Momo-chan again… cuddling her close to him, inhaling her sweet scent of deep slumber and dreamless night… Why didn't people realize how much of a blessing their daily good night sleep gave? They only cared about trivial things like money and world-domination. Ungrateful bastards…

"Are you okay?"

Wolffie turned and frowned at the person he had just recently recognized as the _real_ Conrad Weller, the man Yuuri had been fawning over, the personality his brother had talked so highly about, and the one person he officially blamed for the whole fiasco that day.

"I'm fine." He growled, glaring at the bemused man with doubled effort, hoping that it would chase him away sooner.

Conrad looked unconvinced, "You've been spacing out a lot today. Are you sure you're okay? I heard that you ate dinner in your room last night."

A snort. "How and where I had my three-time meals is none of your concern."

The slightly wounded and concerned expression on Conrad's face was sincere enough to make Wolffie fidget. The brunet would definitely get in to ultra-denial mode when confronted about it later, but really, having such a wonderful skill to 'dismay' enemies to surrender was not something to be ashamed of! Wolffie felt the rising temperature on both of his cheeks as he tried to find the right words to correct his rude behavior. He felt exactly like when his father had come home one night drunk: crying, sobbing and announcing loudly about having such an uncaring son to the entire neighborhood.

"O… okay, really, in fact, I'm feeling as energetic as ever. I'll be ready for whatever competition it is." He heaved an inward sigh of relief as the other man's injured look softened with relief, "How about you?"

Wolffie wasn't sure if Conrad realized that his silence had taken more than enough time for a mere pause. He still looked like he wasn't done thinking even after he finally nodded.

"Yes… I have to."

It felt a bit ridiculous listening to someone try to convince himself into doing something he wasn't sure about, but Wolffie could understand how he felt. Maybe. A bit.

…Okay, so humans were just that complicated. He was sure that it was quite normal not to understand them… most of the time. It didn't mean that he didn't know what to do with them, though. He was, after all, a recognized genius human-slayer. Not that he considered the option. Despite the troubles the brunet had caused him, Conrad looked quite decent for a human. He started to understand why Yuuri was crazy over the man. Ha! See the brilliance! Humans were not that hard to comprehend, after all!

"…You really okay?"

"I am okay." The grin was a bit too wide to be an in-character Gwendal. Fortunately for him, Conrad was obviously not enough in his right mind to notice. "What kind of competition is it going to be anyway?"

Conrad looked slightly taken aback at his inattentiveness, as he shook his head sheepishly like a model student who had just been caught daydreaming in the middle of chemistry class, "I wasn't listening either. But I believe that she will conclude the whole speech at the end of the meeting."

True to his words, Anissina soon started with the part where everybody was finally paying attention.

"So here's what you need to take notice when riding the machine," The woman looked unaffected by the excruciating heat of the midday in the cramped and freshly built military tent, "You'll be escorted by your skeleton at your turn, to the top of the machine." She pushed her glasses up and pointed her ruler to the aforementioned spot on the diagram on the blackboard. That moment would soon be remembered as the day when Wolffie developed a rather severe trauma to any lottery wheel, Ferris wheel, and any wheels that could spin with varied sizes.

"On the panel right next to you, you'll find a red crank, make sure you're ready before you use it to spin the wheel." Anissina took off her glasses and smiled, "From there, it's up to your vigor and reflexes, and don't forget your good luck. I wish you all of those things. Now step forward when I call your name to take your random number."

Most of the people groaned. Wolffie did wonder what spinning lottery wheels had to do with reflexes and vigor (maybe to maintain balance while the machine shook?), but… oh well, how dangerous could something like _that_ be, anyway?

When he turned his eyes back to Conrad to see the other man's reaction, he realized that the horror reflected on the brunet's face had nothing to do with the mad scientist and her beta-version machine.

He instinctively followed his eyes and found himself standing between the infamous rivals, possibly in the whole nation. Surprisingly, the blond on the other side didn't look as burdened as his older brother. He even spared some time to smile and wave at him, to which he responded sheepishly only not to look suspicious.

"Gwendal! Your turn!" Anissina's voice boomed throughout the tent, making it impossible even for him not to notice it.

Wolffie cursed when he realized that loosening his collar had done very little for lowering the sudden rising temperature in the room (especially that people starting to stare at him with… weird looks). Praying to whatever Gods which were passing the area by so that his bad luck would end there, he took a step forward to the heavily smiling Anissina, dipped a hand in to the box she was offering and pulled out a piece paper which said '1'.

He wished he had known why those people were all heaving a relieved sigh.

XXX

The grand opening of the 'lottery game' was almost as spectacular as Yuuri's welcoming party when he had first arrived to Shin Makoku. Most of the spectators were die-hard fans who took the rare chance to 'observe' their idols a little bit closer (and when I said 'a little bit', I really meant it, seeing how they were literally separated by one hill and one huge machine). Most of them, Yuuri included, didn't seem to mind, though. Observing was observing, and no matter how microscopic their beloved looked, they'd still love them anyway. Ah, the beauty of unconditional love...

"...Do they still itch?"

"A bit... but it gets better when you do that..." Murata sighed deeply, "Please do it again... for me..."

"Err, okay... but you don't have to make it sound so..." Yuuri paused for a moment to find an appropriate phrase, "...dir---suggestive."

"Hmm? Which part of it?"

Yuuri never knew that red, irritated eyes could also look so guiltless.

He sighed and stole another glance at his back, as all the curious 'spectators' immediately backed down to their seats and pretended that they were not interested in the activity both boys were engaged in. "Next time, make sure the brand you choose is compatible with your eyes. Try on those contacts for today and see if it fits."

Murata's pout, combined with his teary (from being irritated) red eyes earned (most probably instinctive) blissful sighs from the happy spectators.

"What? You're not going to blow my eyes again?"

"No!"

The fairy laughed softly as his ex-master tried in vain to ignore him and the bold people who were openly exposing their curiosity and starting to make loud, mindless comments about their king's new 'boyfriend'. Apparently, a new fan-club supporting their 'forbidden' relationship had been manufactured in the process.

"Come on, Shibuya, don't sulk. You looked so tense so I wanted to cheer you up a bit." Murata leaned closer to the pouting boy, closing his face to the reddening ear, earning happy gasps from some ecstatic fan-girls. Yuuri was still trying to ignore him, and was still failing miserably to hide his embarrassment. "Why? Being shy all of a sudden? I thought you had officially declared yourself gay?"

"Gah, Murata! Not the G-word!" Yuuri's soprano shriek caused more gasps from the audience, not the joyful ones, though.

Valiantly ignoring the swirling-eyed unmoving body on the floor, he stood up and successfully distracted everyone by pointing to the first contestant who was being transported to the machine by a flying skeleton, "Look! The show has begun!"

Somewhere on the floor by Yuuri's feet, a pained moan could be heard.

"Oww…"

XXX

If Yuuri was going to complain about the way he had been teleported from the dream world to the judgment world, Wolffie was _so_ going to complain about this specific transportation device.

Back in Fairy World, teleportation had been the first choice for long-distanced trips, and train was the second, also third, fourth, fifth and so on since wings could be just as unreliable as feet to humans. So practically, despite being infamous for being a brilliant, shiny, glossy, polished A-rank student who couldn't do teleportation properly, Wolffie had had a near-zero experience in riding on any other transportation devices other than the three mentioned above.

You'd think that having a skeleton with bat-wings grasping onto your ribs wouldn't feel much different than flying on your own wings, but in fact, Wolffie had never felt as airsick as he was during the less-than-one-minute trip. The landing was also far from smooth. The grinning (but don't all skeletons do that?) pile of speckled bones literally 'dumped' him on to a very cramped public phone-booth-like space on top of the machine, where _everything_ was painted so red that he could hardly see where the goddamn _red_ crank was.

"You have five minutes from now to collect whatever wits about you that you'll need. If you don't use the crank in five minutes, you'll fail automatically." Anissina's eerily calm voice, mixed with the twitch of nerves somewhere in his insides and the nauseous heavy scent of the _red_ metal wall surrounding him nearly turned his digestion system upside-down. It did feel a bit better when he realized that there was nothing in this person-who-skipped-breakfast-and-lunch's stomach, though.

_Calm down… calm down… it'll be just fine… this is just a goddamn lottery wheel… we'll surely both make it out of this alive… somehow…_

Had his erratic heartbeat been any indication, Gwendal wasn't too convinced about it as well. Being two souls in one body, they had to cooperate well, and so they did. But of course, coming from two very different people, who had never introduced themselves properly to each other before, in a situation where one had forcefully snatched the other's body without permission, the phrase 'cooperating' was more like 'not getting in the way while the one in charge is taking care of the job'. Wolffie cursed inwardly as he felt the other man's presence fading in his mind temporarily, as if waiting for the dreadful moment to end before reappearing again.

Things were all good until he reached for the red crank and realized that common mazoku physical power wouldn't work on the magic-powered machine. Luckily for him, although it wasn't quite the same as the mazoku's, he also had magic power he could use. And he was damn confident about it.

_Some stupid mazoku machine…_ Wolffie smirked as he concentrated a considerably small amount of energy to his right hand before placing it on the crank, getting prepared to pull it down and see what it was going to give him _…Humph… This thing is just a stupid child's toyyyyyyyyyyyyYYYYYYYYYY _"YYYYYEEEEEEEEEEOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWW!"

XXX

"Woooooooow…"

Yuuri, Murata and the rest of the spectators gasped as Gwendal's terrified shriek echoed throughout the hill area, followed by the horrifying loud noises of dull metal objects clanking with each other, moving some crows' fragile hearts to tears with the thrill, horror and heartbreak it carried. Both boys never realized that they were so close to suffocation until Gwendal's body was tossed back out from the red 'phone-booth, thrown in to free air acrobatically before landing with both trembling legs in a manner which could only be referred as 'hip and elegant' on a thin mattress right below the exit of the tunnel where the giant ball was supposed to come out from. They didn't actually have the luxury of a closer look to make sure that the man was still... in one piece, but somehow, they could see that something had changed in the dark-haired furry animal lover ('Such sharp eyes! Go me!', so they told themselves proudly).

Some of those sharp-eyed spectators could already guess the next scenario, so they gasped less when a giant and heavy-sounding lottery ball announced its arrival with loud, horrifying drum-roll noises from inside of the tunnel. It was when they _finally_ noticed Gwendal's sparkling brand new white priest costume (complete with the staff and the large crucifix necklace), which made him glow like a full moon in a peaceful night, and automatically deafened their ears from the undignified high-pitched screams their idol was emitting.

Wolffie could feel all the blood in his body stilled. He was sure he had never been whiter than when he had turned around and started running down the electrocuted-fenced path towards the only exit: the lake. Only a few seconds after he had started running, the nightmare made its very rounded and very heavy and very black appearance as it rolled out of the tunnel through the exit, and tumbled down a few feet behind him, sounding like death, explosion and crushed bones.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome our FRIAR LAWRENCE!"

Spectators, mostly Gwendal's fans, started yelling their support loudly for their beloved idol, unaware of the fact that all the man could possibly hear at the moment was the sound of his own heartbeat. Anissina knew that she had created the possibly most entertaining attraction in Shin Makoku when Gwendal somehow managed to throw himself in to the cold water before getting trampled, and people exhaled in relief and clapped their hands furiously as the eldest of the three dissimilar brothers resurfaced, alive, severely traumatized, but most probably unscratched.

Murata was rolling down on the floor, clutching his aching stomach as he laughed the grand laughter of his 700-year-old life.

Yuuri repeatedly swallowed and was now staring at the warning board apprehensively.

Gwendal was staring down at his drenched state in disbelief, wondering where he was, what he was wearing, when had the weird-looking staff made its way inside his tight clutch, how he had come to the situation, why the hell all those people were clapping their hands and whooping for him, and who on earth this _'Friar Lawrence'_ **(i)** person was. Well, at least Anissina looked happy enough not to roast and have a feast with his beloved Buta-chan. And the cane actually _helped_ him stand up. So it could be considered a happy-ending (?)

Wolffie found himself back to his body somewhere inside the forest, thankfully dry.

XXX

Apparently, applause from two personal admirers wasn't enough to diminish Wolffie's anger. Yuuri could only watch nervously and curiously when the imitation of his fiancé suddenly appeared in front of them in the middle of the third contestant's 'performance', looking much or less like a zombie who came back from the land of the dead to take his revenge on his murderers.

"We need to talk." His voice, which was also Wolfram's, was even colder than the melting vanilla ice cream in his duck-shaped mug. Yuuri couldn't help feeling more relieved and sorrier for Murata that the voice wasn't directed at him. At least that's what the red eyes indicated.

Murata was still smiling when he swallowed the warming orange juice he had been keeping in his mouth since a little while before, nodded and rose up from his seat. The king was in the process of putting his mug down and standing up when Wolffie added, still with the stabbing chillness in his intonation.

"Alone."

"Maa, it's all good," Murata interrupted before Yuuri could manage out a protest, "We'll just have a friendly brother-brother conversation. There's no need to worry."

Yuuri looked at the older fairy in the eyes to make sure that the boy meant it before deciding to provide the two the privacy they needed. He nodded tensely and sat back down, watching both boys from behind until they disappeared among the crowd of noisy spectators.

The next ten minutes felt like ten hours, even if a spectacular entertainment was playing before his eyes. He kept alert for any suspicious noises, ranging from yells, breaking glass, explosions to meteors falling (who knew what fairies did when they quarreled, anyway?), and thankfully, nothing of those sorts actually occurred. A moment after the fifth contestant got tossed in to the 'phone-booth and was in the process of gathering courage to pull the cursed red crank, Murata returned to his seat and chewed on his straw again. Yuuri tried to study his face for some signs of distress, but couldn't find anything deeper than the usual reasonless cheerfulness. Murata was always hard to read, yet Wolffie kept complaining about human beings as hard to comprehend.

Yuuri blinked at the soft pink glow at the top of Murata's head, circling the fairy's scalp like a circlet. He sat frozen there for a moment, rubbed his eyes vigorously, stared some more, before shrugging it off as a trick of the eye. After all, the sun was high and stingingly burning at the moment, and desert people often experienced something like that too. Never mind that the hills were supposed to be less famous in creating illusions than deserts.

"What did he say?"

"Uh—hnn…" The boy raised his hand with a mouthful of orange juice, "It's all good. Don't tell me you were worried sick about me that you didn't even feel like touching your ice cream…"

"Of course not! Why would I!" The king quickly grabbed his mug of ice cream to further make his point. A fond look came over his face as he held the mug close to his face, "My mom always likes to eat Ben & Jerry's ice cream. But she always complains about the calories after eating a whole pint by herself." Yuuri gestured roundly over his stomach, mimicking his mother's antics with surprising feminine accuracy. As Yuuri spooned the completely melted vanilla ice cream, he winced at the extreme sweetness that had been earlier covered with its frostiness and promptly put the mug away to the small table. "What's this brand? Instant Diabetes?"

"Actually," Murata looked very satisfied with himself as he emptied his glass and sighed in bliss, "The brand's '**MAOU'S'**. And we've had the owner sitting right behind us for quite a while…"

Yuuri froze for a moment then shivered at the sudden cold wind, which smelled a lot like the newest blueberry ice cream product that had just been introduced to the public that afternoon.

Without another word or turning back, the king grabbed his grinning friend by the collar and dragged him away, yaoi-fan-girls and boys cheering at their 'affectionate' departure.

XXX

The brain was designed to be a traitor.

You told them not to think about things, and they did the exact opposite. You told them to start thinking about things, and they would try to find various escape routes to come back to their initial itinerary instead. Sometimes you were able to bring them where you wanted them to be, but one distraction would be more than enough for them to bite the leash off and run back to where they wanted to be. It was all up to their wishes, not yours. It always was.

Knowing this nature far too well than most people, Conrad resigned to his fate and finally stopped trying not to think about Yuuri, Yozak, Wolfram, and the conversation they had had before. It felt so weird, to be standing inside a beta-version machine, becoming Anissina's guinea pig, which he had never experienced before, and contemplating whether or not he should be pulling the crank.

Anyone who failed to pull the crank within five minutes would automatically fail the competition. He had thought that there wouldn't have been any other way out after stepping forward and saying that he wanted to join the contest, but now, the obvious exit door was laughing mockingly at him, daring him to open it and escape, like what he had done earlier.

He was sure that he didn't want to. But he wasn't sure if he needed to or not. He wasn't sure if it was the best choice for everyone. He wasn't sure if it was just his selfishness and arrogance. He had never dreamt that the friendly festival he had initiated would have come to _this_.

Conrad placed one hesitant hand on the crank, testing its solidness under his rough fingers.

_Pull it,_

_Or not_

_Pull it,_

_Or not_

_Pull it,_

_Or not_

_Love him,_

_Or not_

_Want him,_

_Or not_

_Wish for his happiness,_

_Or not_

Yozak's cheek was swollen. He could have dodged his fist easily. He had intentionally given him the shot._ "You'll realize that you're just a cowardly hypocrite!"_

Yuuri rarely frowned. But he had. His back had been facing him at the moment, but he could have seen it just as clearly. _"Good luck."_

Wolfram always looked either angry or sullen whenever they met. But he hadn't. His display of great wisdom slightly hurt his pride as being the older brother. _"This isn't war, so there's no winning or losing."_

Before Conrad realized it, he had been furiously pulling on the crank with his entire strength.

It didn't budge.

Suddenly he remembered why he had never been a guinea pig for Anissina's experiments before.

XXX

"What do you mean the machine is magic-powered!" Yuuri almost choked on his own gasp, "Conrad has no magical power whatsoever!"

"I know. That's why my brother asked me to tell you that." Murata replied calmly, "He wants me to tell you that Sir Conrad wouldn't be able to pull the crank and spin the lottery wheel."

Like other common competent kings, Yuuri didn't waste more time staying in shock and started running towards the large bridge (whose name took more effort to spell than crossing it in silence) that connected the spectator tower and contestant tower. The fairy looked like he was about to open his mouth and say something, but eventually ended up trailing his steps in silence.

XXX

When they arrived at the top of the other tower, anxious, panting and high on adrenaline, Yuuri was greeted by another bizarre scene. Dry but also very unhappy was Gwendal, who was currently seated with the other chosen casts, which consisted of Cheri, who was happily showing off her new renaissance dress that had been specially made for the performance, Gunter, who was heavily brooding at one corner after his third failure to convince Anissina that the nurse costume needed to be more open at the collar part, Yozak, who was arguing with the tailor about the shape of his sleeves, and Gisela, who kept staring at the easy weight-loss machine while wondering if she could try it again after the lottery was done.

He would have missed Anissina's presence completely if Murata hadn't nudged at his arm and pointed to her direction, where all Yuuri could see was a gorgeous young princess who looked way too smug for her own good.

"What… the…" A faint blush made its way up to his previously pale face, "…Anissina-san…?"

"Your Majesty?" Anissina walked as if she wasn't wearing a pair of four-inch high-heels, "I thought you wanted to observe the competition from the spectator's tower?"

"Well… yes… I did…" Yuuri took a step back instinctively, Murata grinning quietly behind him, "What… I mean… this… why are people in their costumes already?"

"Oh, this," Anissina looked down at her own fancy dress, brushed some of her loose smooth long hair on her shoulder and smiled angelically, "Since we've just finished constructing the costumes, and everyone's excited (Gwendal snorted), so we just went and tried them on."

"Oh," Yuuri was still staring at the Anissina's costume, "And what do you play, anyway?"

"Me? I'm Princess Escalus **(i)**."

Yuuri blinked, "Shouldn't it be a prince?"

"Why, we shouldn't worry too much about genders, don't you think so, Your Majesty? Being a woman doesn't mean that one can't rule just as well." Anissina replied mildly, responded by not-so-mild agreeing cheers from Cheri and Gisela, "Anyway, what do you think about my new invention, Your Majesty? Do you like it?"

Yuuri was immediately reminded of his initial purpose for running like mad to the place before. Murata could have sworn that he had just seen a bubble splash above the king's head.

"Oh, right! That!" He gasped, "Is it true that the machine is magic-powered? Because if it really is, then Conrad wouldn't be able to use it!"

"All of my machines are magic-powered. It's just the most practical source of energy." Anissina's calm expression never faltered, "Maybe I'll try making it solar-powered for the next version, but for now…"

"He'll automatically fail!" Yuuri exclaimed in frustration.

Anissina looked at him and continued to smile.

XXX

Conrad watched, mesmerized, as the red crank he had been clutching desperately suddenly went wild, and spun violently just below his stretched palm. He knew that it was _impossible_, and he still thought that it was just his imagination, until the panel above him flicked open and the sound of his own choked gasp rang loudly like a morning alarm in his ears.

Out of years of honed reflex, his arms stretched above him and grabbed onto the nearest thing he could reach, which happened to be the aforementioned crank that didn't look strong enough to hold his weight down for more than ten minutes, but thankfully had been considerably calmed down.

_What was happening just now…?_ He braced himself to look down and face his fate, which didn't look as bright as the hovering sun above his head. In a rather large room down there, various sized mechanical 'hands' (as in without body) were reaching out for him, the sound of their beeping sensors was almost worse than Yozak's early morning shower singing (don't ask how he knew that). Even an experienced soldier like Conrad found it hard not to swallow nervously at the sight below him and instinctively tightened his clutch on the wobbly crank.

Knowing it was useless to waste more time trying to calm his erratic heartbeat down, Conrad looked up at the open ceiling that looked so far away and estimated his chance of escaping, which was a little bit too close to zero for his comfort. He took another deep breath and looked back down, where those freaky metal hands were waving aggressively at him in a foiled attempt to encourage him to give himself up in peace.

_Shin Maou, I know I deserve punishment, but this is too much…_ He squeezed his eyes shut, and once again thought that last night's dream (?) had really cost him his luck for the entire year.

Like what people-near-death normally felt, memories came flashing in his mind; the first time he had been captivated by Yuuri's bright smile, the first time he had realized how much of a compassionate king the boy made, the first time his heart had started showing the signs of irregularity whenever Yuuri had been around, the first time he had actually felt uncomfortable watching Wolfram and Yuuri's closeness, the first time he had actually pondered on a soy sauce stain on his uniform, getting nervous all the time that Yuuri might have noticed it and laughed at his carelessness, the first time he had been worried of catching 'Gunter's syndrome' whenever Yuuri had offhandedly touched his back or held his hand, the nice shiver when Yuuri had held him tight… it amazed him how easily those small accumulated events flipped through his previously orderly life around like it was nothing. But then again, everything _was_ nothing compared to his king, the one he had sworn to dedicate the rest of his life to.

Conrad opened his eyes again and looked down, recalling his own vow.

Pain was nothing.

Danger was nothing.

Everything was nothing,

So bunches of waving beta-version mechanical hands were…nothing too, right?

The brunet jerked and shivered when one particularly long hand took a grab of his boot and pulled it off, crushing it with its inhuman strength before reaching up again for his foot.

With the memory of Yuuri's bright smile and warm touches, Conrad chanted his last prayer and released his hold.

XXX

It had been so long, too long.

Yuuri watched in aggravation as they all waited for the machine to 'puke' Conrad back out, like what it had done to the previous contestants. They had waited for ten minutes, and nothing happened yet. Something had to be wrong; it was always the reason for putting a 'beta' label before any invention's name. The machine was imperfect, its inventor was **_ANISSINA_** (all caps intentional), and its sponsor was an infamous insurance company. For the love of Shin Maou, what had possessed him to give his blessing for the lottery anyway? That machine _could_ kill; he had known it!

"Anissina-san, please take me there! I have to save Conrad!" He turned to the red-haired lady. "He might be in danger right now! We can't stay here watching and doing nothing!"

Anissina stayed silent and kept staring at her machine, as if trying to convince herself that her invention worked well.

Yuuri looked around and tried to find more support from his other comrades, only to find them all staring at the machine with a similar tense expression. His surroundings suddenly fell dead silent. Not even fan-girls' worried squeals could be heard.

Desperate with the reactions he earned, he turned to Murata, who stared back at him expressionlessly.

"Murata! We have to save Conrad!"

The fairy sighed and smiled, shaking his head slowly.

Yuuri strode forward and grabbed his shoulders, ignoring another illusion of a twinkling yellow glow around the other boy's head, "He's in danger! Other people only spent a few minutes inside the machine and it has been more than ten!"

Murata smiled and shook his head again.

Yuuri paled. It couldn't be… the fairy had known that Conrad would…

_No, no. That's not possible! _It was his turn to shake his head violently, trying to keep negative thoughts out of his head, "No! Please take me there! I can't let this happen! You can fly, can't you? You can take me there to save him!"

Despite being unrecognizable to others, Yuuri had seen Murata enough to know that the slight twitch of eyebrow meant that the fairy was genuinely _surprised_, that his next words even came out of his mouth before he knew it.

"How do you know that I can fly?"

Yuuri was struck speechless for a moment, both eyes fixated on the brightly glowing red and black glow around his friend's head.

"What… I…"

A very loud cheer suddenly broke the tension between them. Both boys whipped their heads to the main area of the lottery. Yuuri released the breath he had been holding once he spotted his comrade-slash-crush was sitting dazedly on the mattress, in a fairytale-prince-on-a-white-horse costume which looked foreign on him but looked gorgeous nonetheless… so gorgeous… too gorgeous that when the man stood up and started running for his life, Yuuri started wondering what it would feel like to be the destination for that desperate sprint and was lost to the world for a moment, unaware of the fairy's sharp eyes which had long left Conrad and turned to him.

It can't be… his memories… 

XXX

Conrad had returned to his senses when he felt the safety net nudging his back. He exhaled softly and watched in fascination as the bubbles materialized and disappeared before his eyes. He knew that he was going to need air _very_ soon, and the surface wasn't all that far away, yet he made no move to stand up and get some. It felt so serene down there. He could hear nothing but the gentle shift of water around him.

It was when he raised a hand to catch a bubble he remembered to look at what he was wearing.

He closed his eyes and smiled to the darkness.

…_Yuuri… I made it…_

He intended to stay for a little longer until he couldn't hold his breath anymore, but a moment later, he felt a strong hand grasping onto his shirt, pulling him up almost roughly. After getting back on land, his savior only gave him one chance for a deep breath before pulling on his collar again, forcing his incoherent head up before it was ready. For a moment when he snapped his eyes open and was greeted by the over-shining afternoon sun, Conrad thought that he could finally understand how Wolfram felt whenever he was forced out of bed.

"What do you think you're doing, drowning yourself like that!" The piercingly loud familiar voice caused another of those 'nice' shivers for the bewildered brunet, "Why did you try to kill yourself! You're _supposed_ to be back up immediately!"

"Shibuya, that's enough… he still looks dizzy…" Another familiar (?) voice added up to his already fuzzy flash of memories. Somehow, without his sight, he was sure that the person who was speaking was grinning quite widely at his pathetic state. "I'm sure that it's just a misunderstanding. After all, why would anybody want to die after claiming the dream Romeo role?"

"But he didn't surface!"

"I'm sure that it's just a misunderstanding. Right, Sir Conrad?"

Conrad's intended 'yes' turned out to be a cough of water (from being dragged up so suddenly). The 'savior' abruptly released his clutch on his shirt and brushed his warm hand on his shoulder instead. It felt a great deal better afterwards.

"I'm sorry for being so rough, Conrad. Are you okay?"

Conrad coughed out another incoherent 'yes' and opened his eyes to meet a pair of ultra miserable dark eyes. Just like him, while still fully dressed from head to toe, Yuuri was utterly drenched. He tried not to think how cute the boy currently looked, but once again, since the brain was infamously traitorous, it didn't listen to his desperate command to _stop_ thinking about _things_ he could do to an adorably sopping wet king.

"How are you feeling? Gisela is getting her equipment. She'll be here soon." Ignoring his own 'circumstances', Yuuri quickly flopped the towel he had just received on the slightly dazed man's head and helped him to dry his hair. Looking at the genuine concern on the boy's face, Conrad had never felt a greater urge to ignore the whole world (or the excitedly watching spectators) and just hold Yuuri tight.

Fortunately, (or unfortunately), Gisela arrived just in time to stop the train of 'impure' thoughts in his mind and started asking him questions about how he felt, and if something hurt. Answering every one of them with a shake of his head, Conrad couldn't help but smile when Yuuri noticed his intense gaze on him and responded with a mind-numbing smile.

His logic was shouting at him to pay more attention to Gisela's medical counsel before any unidentified sharp objects invaded his bloodstream, but… Hell, he could always blame it on his traitorous brain.

TBC

More explanations about what happened to Conrad in this chapter will be revealed in detail in the next one. Major Conrad's POV to come.

Information (i) 

**Nurse** – Juliet's servant. I think nobody would fit this character's costume better than our one and only Gunter-sama. –grins-

**Paris** – Juliet's fiancé and the real inspiration for the birth of Wolfram's character, perhaps?

**Mercutio** – Romeo's friend, Yozak's role

**Tybalt** – Juliet's cousin, Murata's role

**Prince(ss) – **Prince(ss) of Verona, Anissina's role, gender-altered to celebrate women-emancipation…

**Friar Lawrence – **The Franciscan who marries Romeo and Juliet, Gwendal's role

**Lady Montague** – Romeo's mother, Gisela's role, is a widow for altered plot's sake…

**Lady Capulet** – Juliet's mother, Cheri's role.


	4. Chapter 4a

AXIOMATIC Chapter Four part A – Scene Number Thirty Three (one) A Sequel of Heels Over Head **A ConYuu Fan-fiction**

By: Ami

Beta-reader: **Sherlockian Slytherin **a.k.a** Proud Snapist**

Alternate Universe, spoilers, maybe

_Specially dedicated to_:** Prosopopeia**, thanks for your patience, understanding and support. No worries, there's no way I'll leave your dedication fic unfinished. Anyway you can always send me more 'inspirations' when you think I'm getting short on ideas. My Ruru-plushie and I can handle any(x-rated)thing! –wink-wink-

For **pheecat**, that was the longest and most flattering review I've ever received as an author! I haven't even decided on the title, but I think you deserve the last part of this ConYuu trilogy!

**Special Note:** Guess what? My talented beta has drawn Juliet-Yuuri for all of us! Yay! You can find the picture at: **_www (dot) deviantart (dot) com (slash) view (slash) 41554022_**. Don't forget to leave a comment if you agree with me that she should draw Romeo-Conrad too for us!

Also, some changes have been done on Ax's previous chapters, and we encourage you to turn back and take a look at the edited chapters for more explanations (especially chapter one).

Standard disclaimers apply.

XXX

Blood Pledge Castle, roughly fourteen years ago… 

_If there was a 'Most Politically-Unaffected Community' Award to be given to any one particular group, the Maid-Quarters Association would have won it hands down. While the world around them shook, crumbled and cracked apart, their daily routine remained constant like the blueness of the sky and the darkness of the night. It fascinated outsiders around them when they saw how the maids never complained about their 'boring' lifestyle, which they had been carrying out for years. _

_Several wise people who had made it close enough to their society, though, would have known better than to assume that a maid's life was boring and constant. For the love of Shin Maou, they corresponded with the royal family, every single day! They served breakfast and 'inevitably' heard what the Maou and her family were discussing about. They stood in front of the Maou's door with a tray of afternoon tea in their hands and came to know more than they should about her colorful love life. It was at night after they were back at their quarters when every tiny little bit of information they had accumulated in the whole day was shared. Every so often, they talked about how Gwendal rejected every single marriage opportunity his mother had 'unnecessarily' made for him. Once in a while, they would discuss about how Gunter kept his hair so smooth and shiny; or they would sigh together when they talked about Wolfram's day-to-day worsened personality and there were also times when the information they got was more significant than the common tittle-tattle. However, it didn't matter for them what kind of information it was, since what they valued the most was the joy, laughter and bliss it brought among them, tightening their bonds and feeding their muses._

_The maids were astute enough to enforce a policy to keep their mouths shut to any outsiders, thus intriguing and tempting people even more to extract valuable information from them, which was easier said than done. The maids rarely gathered and talked together outside of their quarters, which unofficially prohibited anyone with shady intentions from entering. Anissina had even invented a legendary felon-detector alarm in their gathering room, which the genius scientist had proudly stated, would send those leeches straight to the nearest puddle of water to refresh their evil minds._

_That day however, seemed to have been destined as one of those rare days when the gossip became too hot for the wielder to hold alone until the evening. So early that morning, they decided to hold an emergency meeting specially for discussing that one particular juicy rumor. _

_At first, the maids were all excited to know what kind of shocking news that their 'informant' had prepared to make their day. After all, it had been more than ten years since they had that emergency meeting over the sudden appearance of an obsessed cross-dresser claiming to be Gwendal's true mother; a rumor that had taken precedent over their maid duties. Unfortunately, the glee in their faces was quickly replaced with pouts and looks of disappointment the moment the meeting started._

"_I'm telling you, something is fishy here!" The spokesperson, an especially vigorous maid told her friends, who were all looking up at her with narrowed, distrustful eyes, "Ever since he came back, he has been locking himself up inside his office for hours! There has to be something wrong! He must have gotten himself a secret lover during the getaway and is hiding him/her inside his office!"_

"_Ano… senpai…" A young and small maid raised her hand shyly, "As much as I know, he has never sneaked any food inside his office. Can a person survive without food and drink?"_

"_And without showers at that?" came a disgusted remark from a girl who couldn't imagine starting her day without her apple-scented soap._

"_Also, why should he bother to hide him/her? He can always ask for approval, propose to him/her and have a legal relationship. Her Majesty isn't very strict on this subject (in fact, she wants all her children to get married as soon as possible, with whoever they want…)" Another skeptical maid added with a snort._

"_Okay, perhaps that 'hiding a secret lover in his office room' part was a little bit far-fetched, but the presence of a secret lover itself can't be flawed!" The energetic maid retorted at her friends' cynical responses, "Sir Conrad has changed a LOT! Can't you see how he smiles more often now? And how he responds to our greetings with words instead of the usual stiff nod? When a man suddenly becomes generally happier with his life, there can't be any other reasons! He's in LOVE!"_

_When her audience suddenly fell silent and looked at her tensely, she thought that she had finally enlightened those lost souls. At least until she realized that they had been staring at something behind her instead._

"_Sir Yozak!" _

"_All right, beautiful ladies, I don't mean to interrupt your… lively conversation…" Yozak coughed, folded his arms and glanced at her pointedly, "But Her Majesty Maou seems to be up, shining and starving already. She wonders if an omelet with extra cheese would be amenable for this scenic morning…"_

"_Yes, Sir! We'll prepare it right away!" All the maids immediately stood up and scattered around to prepare the very early breakfast._

_XXX_

_Yozak came out of the room and strolled down the corridor with a wide smirk on his face. Of course, he hadn't just shown up in the kitchen to remind the maids about Cheri's breakfast, seeing that it was only five in the morning (and it really had nothing to do with the fact that the maid's felon-detector having slapped him in to next week a few days before, and thus effectively showing him how to get past the system), it was just that his ears tended to perk up at the mention of his commander's name._

_Conrad was a fairly peaceful and quiet person, but rumors and gossip about him were always interesting enough to lift his spirits exponentially. So far, the best one was the rumor about Conrad's suicide note, which had been found on the man's table in his room during one of the half-mazoku's annual inspection trips to the town. The whole castle had literally shaken at the discovery. Many had cried, some had fainted, while the others had lamented in their own ways. Man, the priceless expressions of the mourners had kept Yozak's smile extra-sparkly for two weeks straight when Conrad came back a week later and amusedly told them that he had never written such a note! But of course he had had nothing to do with the 'mysterious' appearance, and later, disappearance of the note. Really._

_Well, all pranks aside, this time's joke really had nothing to do with his inner or outer prankster. Seriously, if he were going to make up a rumor about the infamously frigid man, he would have come up with something more believable. He meant… come ON! A secret lover? Hiding in his office? CONRAD? Pfff… amateurs…_

"…_Good morning, Yozak."_

_The redhead abruptly paused his joyful early morning musing and looked up to find the object of his amusement standing only several feet in front of him, with the face of someone who had spent most of his night working instead of sleeping comfortably under warm cozy blankets. Conrad was frowning at him with his usual 'I-don't-even-want-to-know-what-you're-thinking-about-but-whatever-it-is-_please_-DON'T' look._

"_Yo! Good morning, Commander! Working already?" He casually meandered closer to the other man who looked like he was thinking up an excuse to escape the 'friendly' advance._

"…_I just need to check on the weapons stock report you delivered to me last night." The brunet sighed as he pushed the door open and glanced back at his widely grinning subordinate, "You look quite unoccupied at this moment. I thought I asked you to tutor Wolfram when you had the time?"_

_Yozak shrugged. While most people learned from their mistakes, he was the type who liked to learn from other people's mistakes. It saved him a great amount of time and energy. Wolfram was a brilliant student, but not necessarily a pleasant one to teach, so he had heard many times from many exhausted teachers. _

"_Maa… that lad is quite skilled already. He has probably learned more than enough from the others."_

_Conrad sighed again and seemed to be wondering why he did it a lot whenever he was talking to this particular person, "Then please inform the maids that I won't be coming for breakfast. And I don't want it delivered to my office either."_

"_Okay." The redhead quickly replied before Conrad changed his mind and asked him to teach Wolfram again instead. The brunet gave him a nod of approval before stepping inside his office. Out of curiosity, Yozak took a brief scan of the room and saw nothing out of the ordinary. Unmistakably aware of the scrutiny, Conrad slammed the door shut loudly behind him._

_Yozak rubbed his sore nose with an exaggerated, loud pained groan, only to make sure that Conrad heard every pitch of it. Once he turned his back, his smirk grew anew._

"_So suspicious…"_

_XXX_

_Later that night, Yozak was back in front of Conrad's office, armed and prepared like the competent undercover agent he was. After having a friendly midnight conversation with the guards, who unsuspectingly opened the door for him when he told them that Conrad had asked him to get an important document inside, he casually entered the room, flicked the lights on and surveyed his surroundings. The office still looked as plain and boring as he remembered._

"_Well, whether the secret lover is here or not…" He slid a hand inside his pocket and produced Anissina's handmade microscopic recording machine, which had been bestowed to him for his field work (and collecting 'momentous' information, Anissina had added with a smirk) only a few weeks before. _

"_We'll see… no, hear."_

_Wishing the little device the best of luck for its first mission, he looked around for the most suitable place to install the gadget. His eyes immediately fell on the desk, which he brilliantly realized, would be the 'noisiest' possible place in case the secret lover really existed. The redhead snickered at the censored mental image as he giddily approached the innocent-looking desk and installed the recorder on its underside, standing up and dusted his hands off with a satisfied smirk._

"_All right, now it's time to…"_

_For a moment, Yozak wondered what the thing that had just caught his eyes was, since it had just seemed like a flash of yellow. He turned his eyes back to the desk and scanned it again for the distracting-colored thing._ _Yozak felt his jaw drop in incredulity as he spotted the yellow rubber ducky. It was a goddamn yellow rubber ducky!_

"_Don't tell me that THIS was what he was trying to hide from me at the bath before…" He snickered softly as he reached out a hand to grab the duck, which looked back at him innocently. The toy looked old, but still very well cared for. He couldn't find any speck of dust on its smooth plastic surface._

_Of course it was clean. He must take it with him to the bath everyday, Yozak giggled like a love-struck schoolgirl at the mental image. Aww, dear strict commander, never knew you had this side in you!_

_The redhead continued to squeeze, brush and cuddle the lovable toy until he got kind of bored of imagining Conrad doing the same thing and quickly reverted to his usual manly-self. He placed the duck back at its previous position on his commander's desk and sighed again at the lovely image it brought among the scattered official documents, pens and inkbottles. _

_Just when he started to understand why the toy was so important to Conrad, he suddenly heard familiar footsteps from outside. Mostly out of a spy's reflexes, he switched off the light and rushed to hide. A moment later, the owner of the footsteps entered the room and calmly flicked the light back on. _

_Yozak calmly crouched in the darkness, wondering if the man knew about his presence. Despite being a half-mazoku without any magical abilities, Conrad's war-sharpened senses had proved more useful than common magical ability in the battlefield. Yozak also had to admit that it had saved his ass in numerous occasions, but it was also the very same ability that had deprived him of his 'Pranking-Dear-Commander' entertainment. Ah, deep thoughts about the predicaments of life sure felt worse than they should when one was sitting on the cold tile under one's superior's desk._

_The footsteps stopped in front of the desk. Yozak nervously sat still, expecting one sword or two through vital bits of his anatomy, or at least the desk if Conrad really did like the special unagi bento he had bought at the new famous restaurant in town a few days before._

_One brief moment later, Yozak was kind of surprised to hear Conrad walk away, with his body still in one piece, as was the desk, and he hadn't even been admonished about his sense of morality yet. Conrad must really like the bento. After all, he had queued for one hour for that last box! _

_He listened carefully as Conrad walked back towards the door and twisted the knob. He vaguely noticed that the light was still on, but couldn't really figure out why until the scolding he had been expecting finally disembarked._

"_Stop telling nonsense to my guards. If you want to get inside, just tell them so."_

_Yozak shivered at the deep and firm tone, starting to wonder if the rubber duck had just been a part of his imagination. This Conrad certainly didn't sound like he needed the company of a rubber toy in his bathtub everyday._

"_Don't cause a mess, and turn off the light when you're done." The brunet ended with a huff. At this point, Yozak just realized that Conrad sounded wearier than usual, and the noise of his footsteps clearly indicated that he was in his working boots, which could have easily made it in to Shin Makoku's National Museum with all the experience it had gained during the past thirty or so years. _

_With Conrad's fatigued face and slumped figure in his head, Yozak couldn't help nodding his compliance despite its pointlessness, and stayed perfectly still until his commander exited the room and had shut the door._

_Not wasting another minute in his uncomfortable position, Yozak crouched out of his hideout and took some time to signal his blood to start circulating again. It actually didn't work until he snarled at it and at himself to stop thinking about what might have happened to exhaust his dear commander so. That man was always like that, keeping problems to himself. Well, he did share sometimes, only when he needed Yozak's expert advice regarding the situation, which was usually not that complicated (Yozak's intelligence was insulted). But when the problem was actually the kind that was big enough to make common souls crave to want to break down and cry in their closest ones' shoulders, Conrad preferred solitude. It was mostly why Yozak often felt the need to 'research' more of his introvert commander's private life. And don't frown upon the seemingly illegal methods; installing a recorder and other similarly extreme measures were about the only ways to help that lost soul!_

_And even if he couldn't do anything to help, it was the thought that counted, after all._

_Giving one last glance at the still-messy-looking desk, Yozak briefly noticed that the rubber duck had disappeared. Well, he guessed it was time to find out some information about Conrad's activities for the day. Maybe after that, he'd start to understand why his dear commander needed a toy duck's company in his bed that night._

_He sighed softly as he crouched under the desk again and reached for the unused recorder._

"Can't you see how he smiles more often now? And how he responds to our greetings with words instead of the usual stiff nod? When a man suddenly becomes generally happier with his life, there can't be any other reasons!"

"He's in LOVE!"

_Yozak's hand paused midway and froze for a moment before retreating completely._

Just in case_, he reasoned to himself as he stood up, casually made his way to the door and exited without turning off the lights._

XXX

Present time, Blood Pledge Castle…

If confronted, Conrad didn't think that he would have been able to state it outright that Yozak was his best friend, or at least, his favorite subordinate. To tell the truth, the word 'friendship' was quite vague in his point of view. He had never really had any friends before. Usually when he gained one, that one would betray him, forget him or die in the battlefield, leaving him, once more, alone.

Yozak was so far one of the few who actually hadn't fallen in to one of the three categories, and was currently the only one whom he still sometimes spent his free time with. The man was generally a nice person. He was fun, friendly, tough, adventurous, and never said no to alcohol. Even when he had been a kid, he had always admired the redhead's nonchalant personality. Yozak always spoke his mind and was never worried about what people thought about him. Yozak never hesitated to confront risks and just went on without mulling over consequences. Yozak hardly knew the true meaning of 'courtesy' and 'good manners' but still managed to have so many friends. When Yozak knew what he wanted, and found one way to gain it, he would just go and gain it. It was how Yozak always came to get the things he wanted, and Conrad didn't.

Even when knowing the fact better than anyone, Conrad didn't do anything to change, or rather, he couldn't. A one-hundred-or-so year old wasn't exactly the tender age to attempt a change in personality, after all. The traits had become an inseparable part that determined his identity. Furthermore, how would people look at him if he woke up one morning and decided to dye his hair red and impersonate Yozak? Conrad shivered at the thought and quickly made his mind up that he was _fine_ being his normal, even boring-self.

Although sometimes he envied the redhead and felt irritated with his offhandedness, Conrad also knew that nobody could read his mind better than Yozak. The man seemed to always know which button to push to get the reaction he wanted, yet he had never used the excess-information to stab Conrad in the back. Instead, Conrad always felt that the man was protective and actually very careful about his feelings.

It was Yozak who had showed up in his room with the most ridiculous frilly and translucent red night-gown when he had been suffering from insomnia after making his first killing in the battlefield, making him laugh until he had become too tired even to feel depressed (Conrad was horrified when he realized that the 'newly-wedded bride's bed-of-roses pose' might have been the only lesson Wolfram had picked up from Yozak's private class). It was Yozak who had 'accidentally' used the announcement loudspeaker in the meeting hall for the 'Thirty Minutes with Yozak and His very very _very_ Dirty Jokes' radio show when the officials had especially gathered to scrutinize his every flaw during the recent battle. It was also Yozak who remembered the day of Julia's death, and purposely appeared in front of his door in the middle of his reminiscing with a bottle of nice booze and a promise of temporary memory loss until the day completely passed.

Now when Conrad thought about it, perhaps Yozak was indeed both his best friend and favorite subordinate, despite all the troubles the redhead caused to people within a hundred-meter-radius in general. When Conrad thought about it, Yozak was indeed one of the few people he could trust with his life, despite the man's infinite stubbornness and bad fashion taste. And when Conrad thought really hard about it, and looked down at his clenched fist, and looked up to his proclaimed 'best friend' and 'favorite subordinate'—who was still smirking at him despite his swollen cheek—nausea hit him immediately.

_What have I done?_

"Hit a sore spot, didn't I? You must have not gotten laid for more than a little while."

Conrad was immediately snapped out of his rather long daydream and looked up to see Yozak bring a hand up to his own sore spot and cringe, "That really hurt. I always knew you were wild under that gentle mask, dear Commander."

When usually his words (or rather, tone) would instantly bring flares to the brunet's normally calm brown eyes, all Conrad did was freeze at his place, still looking down at his now unclenched hand with wide, disbelieving eyes.

"Perhaps I picked the wrong words before, so let me rephrase," Yozak's voice sounded a bit odd with his unbalanced cheeks, but what surprised Conrad the most was the fact that the redhead hadn't punched back yet.

"That boy _likes_ you. That's why he went as far as begging Lady Anissina to 'make' you take the role. I'm sure that you have realized that too. But you're just too afraid to confirm it and start thinking on how to work the relationship out for both of you."

Regaining one small part of his shattered composure, Conrad quickly took one short breath and undid some of his top buttons. It always worked to calm his nerves whenever officials started condemning him for the half of his blood.

"All the things you've said are merely assumptions. He's probably just doing this because he feels more comfortable with me…"

"…Than doing those romantic scenes with his fiancé, and the rest of the top-fifty best-looking people in this castle?" Yozak smirked triumphantly as Conrad glared at him like he wanted to deliver another punch to his unscratched cheek. Ever since Yuuri came in to their lives, it was easier and easier for him to get in to the brunet's infamously durable nerves. One negative comment about their current Maou, and BOOM, there he blew. Actually Yozak disliked this particular method the most since most of the damage would eventually land on him, but Conrad tended to be more honest when he was not in control of his anger.

"You know, I was actually supposed to not tell you about our king's feelings and Lady Anissina's plan." He continued, purposely avoiding Conrad's eyes and stared at the slightly blurred sight of the garden, "But I still braved those threats (and you KNOW what threats she delivers) and told you. Aren't you curious as to why? Save for my compassionate nature, of course."

Conrad had stopped glaring at some point, and went back to frowning at his new boots. Or the floor, which looked like it hadn't been vacuumed for one week. Or the line of big red ants that was crawling near his feet.

"I pity you, Commander, for being the only one who won't to admit to your real feelings, while others have seen and acknowledged it."

The red ants, the dusty floor and the boots were immediately thrown out of Conrad's mind like a dump of garbage. Yozak had to suppress his wide grin at the priceless expression on his beloved commander for two reasons: 1) The not-so-amusing overall situation and 2) His swollen and hurt-to-move cheek.

"What---"

"Yes, yes, yes, yes. Your mother has known, your older brother has sensed it at least a bit, your little brother _definitely_ knows, and Lady Anissina knew when her machine's algorithm returned a TRUE value." Although he couldn't openly express his amusement, Yozak was happy enough with leaning on the wall while watching so many colors appearing and fading on the brunet's dazed face. "Anyway, if it's any encouragement, Sir Gunter probably hasn't sensed anything at all (or he's also in denial for having his beloved ex-student as his rival in love). Cute, isn't he?"

Conrad took one deep breath and decided that since his legs didn't feel reliable enough at the moment, he'd rely on the nearby concrete for support. During the brief moment of silence, Yozak continued to watch the rare scene of his strict commander fidgeting and prepared himself in case the brunet's mental emergency alarm suggested bolting. Not that he would blame Conrad for that. After all, it was one of the most common reactions to run away when facing a situation we couldn't logically cope with. Not the manliest common sense ever created, but a very safe one indeed.

"…How long… has it been?" Conrad's voice sounded unusually feeble, and his miserable brown eyes _almost_ made Yozak want to pat his head.

"Sometime before today, I'd say."

The offhand answer seemed to have reawakened the stubborn Strict Commander persona inside of him, "I mean, how long have you been having these misleading assumptions about my affection for Yuuri?"

Yozak groaned in frustration, "Goddamn it, Weller! Just admit it! Does it hurt to say that you love someone? Is it so shameful to you?"

_Yes, when the 'someone' is my little brother's fiancé,_ Conrad was about to retort, but he managed to hold the words back just in time.

"I'm not sure what to say about this. All of you just go assuming… things." Conrad seemed glad that he had regained control over the situation and prepared to excuse himself from the uncomfortable circumstance, "As for me, I don't really regard this situation as a big problem. But if it makes Yuuri-Heika uncomfortable, you should…"

On the battlefield, Conrad's sharp senses were like blessings from above to all the soldiers in his army. Sometimes Yozak would sit and stare with unabashed admiration at the brunet, who seemed to _always_ correctly predict the movements of his enemies, whether the enemy be individual soldiers or whole armies. Hell, Conrad could even take several soldiers down with one swing of the sword with blood-chilling strength and accuracy. Conrad was not a full-blood mazoku and he lacked magical power, yet he still made it to the top of the military-forces without relying on his mother's name, all thanks to those incredible senses.

Knowing and having witnessed all of those things with his very eyes, Yozak had _known_ that his blow was going to be dodged as beautifully as Conrad's dodges always were. He was satisfied enough to feel the rim of his knuckles brush lightly against the other man's jaw, before his sight went black as the familiar punch landed on his unscratched cheek. Luckily for Yozak, Conrad seemed to have all his A-class punches reserved for his beloved king's affairs only, but it still hurt all the same.

Yozak stumbled backward with a choked gasp, but quickly regained his balance and glanced back at the brunet with a smirk.

Conrad looked down, brought one hand up to his scratched jaw and drew some blood.

"Gotcha?" Yozak leered. A breathless one; but it still was a leer nonetheless, "Lucky me. You should have been able to dodge that one easily. I'm an injured man, after all."

Conrad knew all too well that he shouldn't be showing his weaknesses in front of an 'opponent', but his eyes just found their way to his new boots, suddenly feeling incredibly stupid for behaving like a girl during her first experience with high-heels. Yozak didn't miss this brief opportunity and smirked even wider despite the trickle of blood that started to seep through the corner of his mouth.

"Oh, I see," He spit some of the blood out, "Your boots are _new_. WOW. Should I congratulate you for getting rid of the old, I mean, _ancient_ ones?"

"We've wasted enough time." Conrad remarked darkly, "Let's get over this pointless discussion. You should be back to the audition room and---"

"And YOU should listen to me!"

Conrad's brain froze for a brief second, and when it finally rebooted, his back was pressed on the cold wall, and Yozak's hands were already clutching his loose collar so tightly that it choked both his breath and the upcoming indignant words in his throat.

"Just this once, try listening to someone else instead of your cold logic, damn it!" With the close distance, and without the ability to yell back, Conrad could feel each word was pounded in to his skull through his abused ears. "That boy _loves_ you! He might not be doing his best yet to show it, but at least he did!"

Conrad squeezed his eyes shut, only to later realize that it only strengthened the effect of the words to continuously batter his rickety brain.

"You think you're doing the _right_ thing?! You think you're being a gentleman by restraining your own feelings and pretending that you're fine seeing him walk away with someone else?! You think you're just an uncivilized jerk who falls in love with somebody else's fiancé _twice_?! And here I thought you were smart enough to learn from experience!"

"You _will_ regret it, damn it! You will! Right now you might be thinking that this is for the best, but soon, you'll mourn over the day he leaves you for good! You'll curse that day and you'll realize that you're just a cowardly hypocrite!"

Even after Yozak released him, Conrad could still feel the words prickling on his skin like thorns. He looked down at his boots like they would soon speak up to encourage him, or at least take him somewhere else far away. His face was as red as Yozak had never seen before.

"I won't tell you to join the audition. In the end, it's your choice to make."

Yozak turned around and started walking away like a cool hero protagonist who was about to leave the battlefield where he had just defeated an ugly and vicious final-stage boss that deserved no mercy. At least that's what common spectators would see (and the bruises on his face added quite an effect).

Unfortunately for Yozak, Conrad, the only spectator, was not a common one. The brunet was one of the few special VIP who had seen about all of his walking styles, from the dignified warrior's steps to the flamboyant midnight-lady's sashays. Even in his edgy state, Conrad could easily see that the redhead was walking a lot slower than he should be, and he also knew what the other man was waiting for. Something he was about to give him.

"…I'll join the audition."

Conrad could have sworn that Yozak's ears perked up as he paused in mid-step, and felt the need to explain his decision.

"Only because His Majesty wishes so."

It didn't really change a thing, though. Even with the sight of his back only, Conrad could see that the man was fighting the urge to laugh maniacally. Utterly against his will, his blush deepened.

"…And also to prove to all of you that Yuuri holds no such feelings towards me at all."

"Understood, understood." Yozak cutted in as he waved a hand dismissively, sparing his thoroughly discomfited commander from thinking up more ridiculous excuses, "We'll soon see which of us is correct."

Hoping to chase his grinning subordinate away, Conrad didn't answer and let the other man walk away. As if knowing exactly what was in his mind, Yozak paused again only after several short steps and turned around. Conrad awkwardly met his twinkling red eyes and felt the already-fading redness on his cheeks return.

"Nice boots, by the way. Yuuri got you those?"

Conrad nodded stiffly and turned his face away.

"As I thought, only he could change your mind." Yozak shrugged, "It's okay to keep the old ones for reminiscing about your father, but just don't wear them again, okay? They're practically irregular scraps of leather soled together, you know."

Although everything Yozak had said was true, Conrad couldn't help feeling a bit insulted. Those old boots were a precious gift from his late father. That's why he had insisted on never buying a new pair and kept wearing those. But when he had woken up one morning to find a present box with pink ribbon and cute strawberry-designed wrappers in front of his door, his resolution had quickly crumbled. There was no name on the card, but the handwriting looked suspiciously like Yuuri's. Conrad had several times contemplated on confirming with Yuuri if he had really been the one who had sent the new boots to him, but hadn't been able to find the right chance to ask. He had kept believing that those boots had been from Yuuri, but now suddenly he wasn't as sure as before. Frowning up at Yozak's (feigned) wide, 'I'm-as-innocent-as-a-newborn-baby' eyes, he started considering several possible scenarios involving him, a prank, Yozak, and the redhead's 'almost-magical' ability to replicate other people's handwriting.

"…Yozak, you didn't happen to…"

Yozak was already twenty meters away at the moment, and was running even faster than before.

XXX

Pathway to the capital town, several months before…

_Yuuri didn't look like Julia at all._

_It was a thought that frequently passed Conrad's mind every time he looked at Yuuri and his antics. It amazed Conrad how two people who shared the same soul were so different from each other. But what amazed him the most was the fact that it never really disturbed him at all, while he had been half-hoping to see at least a little bit of Julia in Yuuri._

"_Are we there yet?"_

_Conrad felt a particularly loud pounding that his heart made when he felt the warm breath on his shoulder, as his passenger squirmed in discomfort on his seat._

"_Just a little bit more, Your Majesty." He replied with a soft chuckle, "Or would you like us to stop for a while to rest your…"_

"_Uh… well… I'd rather not. It's so embarrassing." Yuuri squirmed some more, and gasped when the horse stopped rather hastily, causing another painful bump on his sore… ahem, part._

"_Please, there's no need to feel embarrassed." Conrad turned back and smiled reassuringly, "There're only both of us here. If you need something, you can always tell me. I want you to feel as comfortable as possible."_

"_Ah, but…" Yuuri returned his smile sheepishly, "Haven't I caused enough trouble by making you take me here without asking for Gunter's consent?"_

"_I can't confidently say that it won't cause me problems…" Yuuri finally relented when Conrad held his hand and gestured for him to climb down the painful ride. "But we have a good reason for this trip. I can only hope that he'll forgive me sooner after seeing your boosted confidence to accept the throne."_

"_Nn," Yuuri still stumbled when he tried to climb down without someone helping him, but at least he hadn't fallen flat on his butt like his few first tries._

"_Are you hungry? Shall we have our lunch now?"_

_Yuuri's dark eyes twinkled as he nodded vigorously. Conrad confirmed the source of the rumbling noises he had heard before._

"_All right. Please wait for a moment. It will be ready in no time."_

_Conrad could feel the boy's eyes watching his every movement as he moved around to prepare the 'instant picnic'. After spreading the mat on the most comfortable spot nearby and dusting it off, he went back to the horse to retrieve the rather oversized picnic basket he had over-excitedly packed that morning, along with various traditional picnic foods (Yuuri's world's style) he had been preparing since very early in the morning._

_A little while ago, he had been trying to convince himself that it was _normal_ for a military commander to wake up before all the kitchen-staffs did and cook for his secret trip with the next king of his nation. But it still felt embarrassing when Yuuri openly showed his bewilderment at the large variety of meals scattered on the mat, leaving only about a small part of the mat to sit on._

"_Whoa… it's just like a _hanami_!" Yuuri sat down and scrutinized each of the food ravenously, "Not even my mother could shape an octopus that has eyes like this! Such detail! The Royal chefs are really something, aren't they?"_

_Seeing an easy escape route from his embarrassment, Conrad only nodded in agreement and gestured the boy to start eating instead of just drooling on them. "Saa, which would you like to start with?"_

_Conrad couldn't help chuckling as he watched Yuuri's exceedingly solemn face as his eyes moved from one food to another. If he could appreciate paperwork as much as he did food, he'd probably be able to adapt with his new life as a king much easier than everyone's estimation._

"_Nah, I think I'll start from the octopi! It's begging me to eat it first!"_

_Conrad responded with warm laughter and the requested octopus-shaped wiener on a small plate. He had to admit that it was one of his masterpieces. It had taken him half an hour to shape up one and make sure that its eyes looked expressive enough._

_Conrad's apprehension only lasted until Yuuri happily chewed on his first bite and swallowed appreciatively. While his way with a sword was legendary, Conrad wasn't all that famous for his way with the spatula. Although all the foods looked simple and easy to prepare, Conrad had considered it quite a challenge after so many years living out of the kitchen. He had even pondered on two bottles of sauce, which had similar taste, smell, color and density to mayonnaise, wondering which had tasted like the real mayonnaise the best. In the end, he had decided to mix them, while continuously praying that Yuuri would still be hungry enough to appreciate the taste. It seemed that Shin Maou had heard his desperate prayer, and had apparently blessed Yuuri with a very large appetite for the occasion._

_Conrad continued to watch until Yuuri abruptly stopped during his 'sampling' and started staring at him with an odd look._

"_You're not eating?"_

"_I'm not that hungry. You can go first." Conrad replied and motioned him to continue, "Have all the food you want."_

_Yuuri looked thoughtful for a moment, although the overall effect was kind of ruined by the messy strands of fried noodles he still had on his spork._

"_Umm… do you mind if I ask you something? About this 'being-a-king' thing?"_

_Conrad quickly nodded, wondering what the normally nonchalant boy was about to discuss about._

"_First of all…" Yuuri put down his spork, "Would it have been a serious violation to your customs if I had insisted on helping you setup the picnic area and that we ate together?"_

_The man only stared dumbly at the Maou-to-be until he finally found the voice box he had misplaced before. "Of course not. What made you think it was?"_

_Yuuri scratched the back of his head and laughed awkwardly, "Oh… uh… well… actually I am kind of… traumatized with your… nonstandard customs. I was thinking like: 'uh oh, if slapping equals proposing, and picking up a fallen dining utensil equals acceptance to a duel, what can I do not to mess things up like before?'"_

_Conrad smiled fondly, "Why? You're worried of getting accidentally engaged to me?"_

_Yuuri's face turned almost as red as the apple he was biting on at the moment, "N---no! Of course not! And I will never slap you because you're so nice to me!"_

"_That's a relief," Conrad chuckled again as he passed on a glass of cold tea to the violently choking king-to-be. "Anyway, you don't need to be worried. We have a lot of traditions here, which might sound peculiar to your ears, but we don't usually implement them like some strict rules. As long as the situation wasn't 'official', like now, we can still bend them."_

"_Uhn," Yuuri took a deep relieved breath for the nice tea and good explanation, "Then it means that I can force you to eat together with me? Because it's not nice to eat alone, no matter how starved I am."_

_The apple's redness on the boy's cheeks returned when Conrad leaned forward and helped him to wipe some spilled sauce around his mouth._

"_With pleasure."_

XXX

Contestant's Tower, present time…

After learning about Yuuri's 'little deal' with Anissina from Yozak, it felt a bit odd to meet and talk to Yuuri again, yet it still managed to make his heart jump silly and his genuine happy smile resurface despite the not-so-nice things that had happened to him throughout the day.

"Conrad!" Yuuri looked as energetic as usual as he hastily approached him, dodging some autograph requests from the present contestants.

"Are you free now?" The king was slightly panting when he _finally_ reached Conrad's front. The enticing sight of his sweat-glistened jaw and neck caught Conrad off-guard for a moment before the older man finally recollected enough pieces of his scattered brain to respond properly.

"I think so," Conrad glanced at the workers who were working diligently under Gisela's rather intimidating supervision, "We're still waiting for the preparations. I'll probably be free until the next hour."

"Good. Then can I borrow you for a moment?" Yuuri caught the other brunet's hand before he could think up an excuse to escape or refuse his offer. As if it wasn't enough, the king flashed the infatuated man a bright smile, which was way too inhumanly adorable to deny.

Conrad congratulated himself for actually being coherent enough to nod, and willingly let himself be dragged away.

XXX

The situation under the towers, due to the 'sudden' off-calendar event, had pretty much resembled the real festival they were about to hold as a welcome for the foreigners. Every vendor who lived nearby came to sell their products, mostly food, some provided mini-games, while a few of them sold children's toys and their unused old appliances. All the people who had come to watch the lottery looked generally happy. They bought food, played games, and laughed together. People looked like they were having so much fun that Conrad felt absorbed in the cheerful atmosphere. But it was probably Yuuri's enthusiasm that affected him the most. After being 'trapped' in his castle for the past few weeks, Yuuri looked like a bird that had just escaped its cage. He stopped every time he saw something interesting, he tried many different kinds of food he had never tasted before, and he had just won the first prize of the 'shuriken-throwing' mini game one of the vendors had offered.

"Uh… Conrad…" Yuuri was still frowning at the supposedly shiny first-place grand prize even after Conrad promised him the area's renowned dango, "I still think that we have been cheated."

"And I still agree." Conrad replied amusedly, throwing another glance at the small old-looking vase, that looked like it hadn't been scrubbed for ten years in a row, "But I think it's not very bad. You can use it in your room for the flowers you get from your new garden."

"Yeah… I guess…" The king sighed in disappointment as he set the dusty vase aside on the counter, "By the way, how do you feel? Lucky enough, I hope?"

Conrad smiled and shook his head, "Unfortunately, I'm really bad at lottery. I just don't belong in gambling centers."

"Nah, I don't think I need to worry about you. I think you're one of the most capable people I've ever met. I feel safe to rely on you for anything and everything."

Conrad had to turn his face away to hide his embarrassment at the sincere compliment.

"I'm just a bit worried about the machine. It looks… so…" Yuuri struggled for the appropriate vocabulary, "…Beta… and creepy."

The older man chuckled at the exactness of his king's chosen words, "I'm sure that it's relatively safer than her other machines. Otherwise, she wouldn't have held this competition in the first place."

Yuuri nodded. Yes, he could still trust her, at least with the large number of people whose lives were on the line.

"Sorry for the wait," an old man with an eccentrically shaped moustache came with their dango sticks. Yuuri would have thought that he was just an unlucky customer who had been talked (or bribed) in to helping the dango restaurant with the hectic number of customers if not for the apron and ID card he was wearing. Yuuri could only blink when Conrad signaled to him that the man might be the owner of the restaurant.

"Would you like to refill your tea? It comes free with the dango." The old man asked with a warm smile, reminding Yuuri of the stereotypical grandfather image.

"Sure," Yuuri helpfully handed the tea jug over to him. The old man gave them a brief nod before turning and walking away with the empty jug.

"He? The owner?" Yuuri asked after making sure that the old man had been far enough to overlook this conversation.

"It appears so." Conrad took a sip of his cold tea, "His ID card only states his name. It usually means that he is the owner of the place. And all of the workers greeted him although they were very busy."

"Oh," Yuuri absent-mindedly ran his fingers on the dusty surface of the vase he had just gained, "The dirt won't come off. Hehe, maybe the same thing will happen to the jump rope my mom bought a few weeks ago. She stopped touching it after the third day."

"Really? Your mother looks stubborn enough to maintain her exercises to me." Conrad smiled at the fond memory.

"Right… You've met her." The king chuckled, "She's stubborn in some things, and lenient in some other things. Exercising and our lives in general fall in the second category."

"She isn't strict with you and your brother?"

Yuuri waved his hand dismissively, "The only part of our lives she cares about is how and when we're going to bring our true loves home and introduce them to her." Yuuri did a fair impression of his mother's rather forceful, yet cheerful nature.

Conrad laughed, "That's just so like her."

"Here's your tea."

Without both of them noticing it sooner, the old man suddenly reappeared at their table with the refilled jug. Conrad briefly noticed how he was staring at the vase Yuuri had carelessly neglected at the corner of the table. Maybe the vase was actually worth the grand-prize title?

"Yes, thank you." Yuuri received the jug and placed it back on the table, expecting the old man to turn around and leave soon so he could continue with their conversation, but the old man remained at his place and kept gazing at the vase like a genie would come out of it after an appropriate amount of intense staring. Yuuri waved his hand in front of dango restaurant owner's eyes experimentally, more out of worry that the old man might suddenly faint rather than the fear of getting his precious vase stolen.

"Ano… you okay? Still there?" The king moved his hand a few more times until the old man finally blinked and was snapped out of the La-La Land. Conrad continued to scrutinize the old man's eyes, and the vase that was swaying dangerously at the corner of the wooden table, waiting for its future death in utter silence and total acceptance.

"Oh… yes. I'm fine." The old man laughed nervously, "I'm sorry. Perhaps I scared you. I tend to do that a lot. You know, spacing out. I guess it's normal for people around my age…"

"That's a relief. I thought you were going to faint for sure." Despite the lame excuse, Yuuri didn't look skeptical at the slightest bit, just as Conrad had expected, "Here, sit for a moment. I'll pour you tea and…"

Conrad bit down a gasp as another scene of his foretelling came true. Yuuri's elbow, which had been menacingly hovering near the already wobbly vase, finally decided that the time had come to send the poor unwanted thing to its quick and loud death... or not.

Only distinctly trained eyes would have been able to witness the whole scene in detail, when the old man who had been standing on the other side of the table suddenly 'warped' to Yuuri's left side and caught the fallen antique just in time, saving it from its not-so-early grave. The vase would have fallen on its knees, cried him a million of 'thank yous' and built his shrine if it was not for the fact that it was just a helpless inanimate object. Despite its stillness and silence, the old man seemed to know how grateful it was for his heroic action. He patted the antique with the gentleness that should have been reserved for his grandchildren while carefully checking for fatal 'wounds'.

Conrad was alternating between exchanging bewildered looks with Yuuri and glancing at the old man who looked well on his way to crossing the bridge that connected sanity to lunacy. So far, he hadn't tried anything to hurt Yuuri for almost 'killing' his 'grandchild', but Conrad gestured Yuuri to move away all the same, just in case.

Yuuri threw the old man one last tentative look before reluctantly following Conrad's instruction.

After making sure that Yuuri was safely out of any antique-loving psychos' reach, Conrad approached the old man, who at that point seemed to realize how psychotic he looked just before and had had the decency to look sheepish.

"Uh… I'm sorry… here, your vase…"

Sensing no bad intentions, Conrad smiled and received the vase, which surprisingly looked a lot cleaner than before. The old man's touches had to be magic. Only magic could have scrubbed _that_ dirt off.

"It's okay, it's okay. We should be thanking you for saving our vase. Right, Conrad?" Yuuri decided that it was safe enough to come close now. Conrad who was momentarily distracted by Yuuri's hand on his back only nodded briefly before handing over the vase back to its owner.

"Is something special about this vase?" Conrad asked while trying to ignore how particularly snuggly Yuuri was at the moment and the strange familiar feelings when he was talking to the old man, although he was sure that they had never met before.

"Well… I guess I have no choice but to explain, don't I…" The old man sighed and smiled apologetically as he gestured to his guests to sit back down before he started his tale.

"Actually, I owned an antique shop many years ago. My mother was a fanatical collector, and she kind of influenced me to become one as well. Well, parents tend to do that to their children. I didn't even realize how obsessed I was until I started stopping abruptly and staring at every antique I considered interesting…"

Yuuri thought about his mother and blanched.

Conrad thought about his mother and was lost to the world for a moment.

"I gave up on the business many years ago. People here don't care about antiques and their values. That's why I switched to this dango business. Apparently, it gives me more profit, only that I don't enjoy it as much as I enjoyed running the antique shop before." The old man started to stare at the vase again, almost longingly, "I was thinking of switching again to antiques, but I was too afraid to suffer another shortfall… life was so hard back then, and now that my business is moving steadily upward, it'll be pretty ridiculous to start again from zero, don't you think?"

Yuuri looked sympathetic about the old man's fate for taking after his mother's habit, "Even if you can't open an antique shop, you can still collect antiques, can't you? Or did your mother's curs---addiction consist of selling after acquiring them?"

"No, no, not really," The old man laughed, "But when I opened an antique shop, people would sometimes come by to show me their antiques. So I could stay in one spot and still got to see a lot of interesting things. I think that's the part of the job I'm the fondest of. Especially since my age and my business won't allow me to travel around for antique-hunting now."

Conrad nodded in agreement, "In that case, why won't you open a small antique shop while maintaining this business? Or are you incapable of keep up two businesses at the same time?"

"Actually, what I'm afraid I can't preserve the most is my own fixation." The old man started staring at the vase Yuuri had been carefully holding again, "When I deal with antiques, my mind becomes useless for everything else."

Silence fell among them for one stiff moment, when everybody was thinking about the best solution to the old man's problem. They frowned, and sighed in frustration at the same time. From the way Yuuri was staring at his coin on the table, he seemed to consider hypnosis as the most effective method to relieve the old man from his mother's cur---addiction. And from the way the old man was ogling Yuuri's vase once again, it was pretty obvious that all he wanted at the moment was to grab the vase and run very far away to a place where they could declare their undying love freely to each other and live together happily ever after.

Conrad sighed again with a different type of frustration this time.

"Anyway, Your Majesty, we really need to get back. I think I heard Anissina's siren just now."

"Eh? Really?" Yuuri's failure to notice the honorific slightly disappointed Conrad, "Then we must get back as soon as possible. Anissina might disqualify you!"

Conrad nodded and turned to the forlorn-looking old man, "We're sorry, but we have to go back now."

The old man looked even sadder at the news. Yuuri felt that it was his responsibility to cheer up the old man since it had been his vase that had reminded the poor man of his fate.

"Here, it's not much, but I think you can appreciate it more than I ever can." The king handed the vase over to the only too obliging old man, "I honestly don't know what you see in it, but please take good care of it."

The old man nodded vigorously, holding the vase close to his chest, "Thank you so much, Your Majesty. I promise I'll make this up for you somehow."

Yuuri laughed sheepishly, "Nah, there's no need to."

"No, no, no, you don't understand," the old man held the vase up, "This vase is one of the most exquisite antiques I've ever seen. This is a true art. It only needs a bit of cleaning and…"

Anissina's siren rang again, this time louder than before.

"We're sorry, but we really need to go." Conrad noticed how unusually anxious Yuuri was at the moment, "We'll talk to you and help you to solve your problem again later."

"No, no, the problem is not a problem anymore." The old man smiled, "I've decided to open an antique shop and let my son administer it. I think that's the best way. And I can ask him to show me the antiques he deems interesting, while I keep this dango business going."

Conrad and Yuuri looked at each other and knew that they were thinking about the very same thing at the moment.

_Why didn't he tell us sooner that he has a son?!_

"…After I find him, of course. He has been gone missing for fifty years now, after our intense argument about his stupid speech…"

Oh, that's why… 

"I blame his bad habit entirely to his mother. She was always using those big words while baby-talking to him…"

-choked gasp- NOT another mother-induced habit! 

Yuuri waved one last time before grabbing the unsuspecting man beside him and quickly made their escape before the old man's malicious family curse also infected them.

XXX

Yuuri finally stopped running when they reached the stairs that led to the contestant's tower. When Conrad saw how breathless the king had become from their sprint, he immediately felt bad for getting carried away with the feeling of Yuuri's tight grasp on his wrist that he had forgotten about the rather vast difference of stamina between the two of them. Without a second thought, he reached for his bag and pulled his half-empty flask out. And when he realized about the indirect kiss they were about to share, Yuuri had gulped the whole content down, and returned the container back to him with a relieved smile and dripping water around his mouth, sapping his ability to form words. So he ended up nodding while clumsily trying to stuff the flask back in to his overcrowded bag. The magic of a jam-packed bag: you can take something out, but later find no space to put it back in.

"We're late. Go now." Yuuri grimaced at the stinging afternoon sun as he looked up at the top of the tower, "I'll watch from the spectator's tower."

Conrad nodded; still holding onto the flask he had (shamefully) failed to pack, "I'll see you again after the… lottery."

Yuuri nodded once more and let Conrad climb the stairs, despite the obvious reluctance reflected in his dark eyes. Conrad didn't know whether he should be feeling relieved or not when Yuuri stopped him after a few steps. He turned around and swiftly returned to the king's side; right at the place he belonged.

"What is it?"

The demon king looked a bit too angelic to fit his title at the moment.

"Uh… well… actually…" Yuuri took another deep breath and seemed to be muttering something inaudible under his breath to brace himself, "The lottery looks… dangerous. I'll understand if you… want to… you know… resign. I'll talk to Anissina if it can help you… and…"

"That's unnecessary." Conrad quickly replied him, still smiling encouragingly, "It was my own choice to enter the audition. And I've seen enough of Anissina's machines to know what risks I'm about to face."

"Honestly, Conrad… do you really want this?" Yuuri looked up at him uncomfortably, his eyes looked even bigger than usual, "I'll feel guilty if you're forcing yourself."

Conrad found himself speechless again under the king's miserable look. No, he wasn't exactly forcing himself, although it would have felt a lot better for him to think that he had been forced in to his current situation. But if he were about to blame someone for forcing him, he'd most probably turn to a mirror. While he knew exactly what kind of answer Yuuri wanted to hear, the words were choked in his throat. Wouldn't Yuuri want to know the truth? Wasn't Yuuri sick of getting pampered? Had the time finally come for them to face the truth? It felt good to be together without thoughts of the future, but it was no more than temporary contentment. To make it long lasting, something needed to be done. Some words needed to be said. Some actions needed to be executed… at the right moment.

_Not right now_, Conrad's mind concluded with a small voice, _anytime but now._

"I appreciate your concern, Your Majesty." He didn't mean to stress the honorific to annoy Yuuri, but it just emerged whenever he intended to remind the boy about the difference of their status, despite the closeness they had shared outside of official issues, "However, I assure you that I'm sure about this. And I'm not forcing myself. It's true that I've rejected the offer once before, but as you went as far as asking Anissina to take me in, I…"

Conrad paused abruptly, realizing his mistake the moment the words came out. He brought a hand to his mouth, something he tended to do when he said something embarrassing or just plain wrong. If Yuuri's thick head hadn't realized it before, the gesture must have made him double take the words. And by the astonished look the boy was displaying, Conrad knew that it had become too late for him to correct his statement.

The brunet sighed softly and moved the hovering hand on to his closed eyes. He had gotten extremely drunk like he had never done before in front of a new batch of soldiers, he had punched Yozak _two_ times in one morning, he had agreed to enter the audition and ride on Anissina's beta-version machine, and now _this_. Conrad didn't normally appreciate someone messing with his head, but it was probably a good thing to have it checked once in a while, in case some of its parts needed to be replaced or to check if anything had been permanently detached.

"Yuuri… actually…"

"Ah, right, you haven't met my friend yet, have you?"

The statement couldn't sound more abrupt, like someone who suddenly commented about the weather in the middle of his marriage proposal.

"He's really nice. Anissina likes him a lot. I think you're going to like him, and his stepbrother too. He looks a lot like Wolfram. You'll definitely be surprised. If you don't mind, I'll introduce you to them after the lottery."

Conrad couldn't manage anything more than a stiff nod, suddenly having a hard time to look at the king straight in his eyes. There were so many things he wanted to say, but Yuuri didn't seem ready to listen at the moment. As he didn't feel so prepared to speak to boot, maybe it was best to wait.

_After the lottery,_ Conrad promised himself as he flimsily excused himself, turned around and walked back towards the stairs.

"Conrad," When Yuuri stopped him at the same spot for the second time, Conrad froze for a moment before slowly turning back to the king, who had had his back to him.

"Good luck."

With that, Yuuri started running away towards the spectator's tower.

Conrad stayed at his place for a very long time, Anissina's earsplitting siren suddenly sounded very far away.

If it was supposed to be an encouragement, why was he feeling so down?

XXX

Blood Pledge Castle, roughly seventy-five years ago…

"_Why did you do that?" _

_Conrad closed his eyes, took in another deep breath, both fisted hands were still trembling on his sides._

"_Whatever he might have done, Wolfram still doesn't understand it. You know that, don't you?"_

But that's beside the point,_ his mind protested. However his father had told him to be an obedient child and not to trouble his mother, so he only nodded weakly._

"_So, why, Conrad?"_

_Silence._

"_The two of you used to get along so well. Wolfram likes you a lot. I could hardly believe it when Gwendal told me that you… pushed him to the ground?"_

_Another weak nod._

"_Do you regret it?"_

_A nod wouldn't be enough to express his guilt, so he voiced a raspy 'yes'. His mother nodded in approval at that._

"_Good. That's the most important thing when you make a mistake. You regret it, and promise yourself to never repeat the same mistake again."_

"_Father told me the same thing."_

_Another silence fell, which was a bit longer than the previous one._

"_That doll… is it…"_

"_Father gave it to me a few months before he passed away," Conrad looked at anywhere but his mother's face. He hated to bring up his father, reminding the queen of the pain of his death, "Some girl threw it to him on his way back to the castle. He said you hated it when he received gifts from other women. So he gave it to me." '_And told me to keep it a secret from you'_ went unspoken._

_Cheri went silent. Her normally vivid eyes looked so empty that she looked a lot older than she actually was._

"_I'm sorry, Mother." Conrad looked down at the floor again. No, he wouldn't cry, at least not in front of his mother. She had suffered more than enough. She didn't need a weak crybaby by her side. She needed someone firm and strong. Someone who could and would give her a warm shelter, the security and protection she desperately needed. Someone like his father. Someone he knew he could never replace._

"_It was selfish of me. I know Father would have been mad too if he knew that I hurt Wolfram for defending the silly doll."_

_The brunet stood in silence for another brief moment. The gentle arms pulling him into a warm hug were something he had expected; so he didn't stumble and just let the queen pull him closer to her chest._

"_I'm sorry," she whispered quietly in his ear. Her voice was still as clear as usual, with no hint of sobbing at all. Conrad had also expected that. His mother would never cry in front of any of her children. She refused to cry for the same reason as he did. She wanted to be strong. And while all he wanted to protect was his family, she was needed to protect the whole nation. Sometimes Conrad wished he had been born in a normal family, where he, his mother and his two brothers could live together in peace without having to deal with those haughty aristocrats. "For putting you through all of this pain… I'm so sorry…"_

"_It's okay, Mother. I understand." Conrad mourned at the loss of his beloved mother's warmth and nice smell, but he still braced himself to gently snuggle out of the embrace, "I'll let the doll go. I don't really need it to remember Father anyway."_

_Cheri smiled at him. Conrad couldn't decide whether it was a proud or a sad one._

"_Please take care of your little brother." The queen brushed her second son's shoulder affectionately. When she did that, Conrad always found it hard to reject any of her requests. He vaguely wondered if his father had often fallen for the gesture too. "You're his hero."_

_Conrad looked down and smiled bitterly, "Perhaps not anymore after this."_

"_Nonsense!" Cheri shook her head disapprovingly as she produced a sweets-filled get-well-soon basket and handed it over to the bewildered boy, "All of my sons are fine gentlemen who know how to forgive others. Go and apologize to him with this. There's no way he can stay angry."_

_Conrad chuckled softly after recovering from his surprise. His mother's eyes never left him as he nodded and briskly ran towards the door, never actually bothered by the weight of the oversized basket._

_Cheri sat back down on her chair and smiled to herself, "Just expected from my little hero."_

XXX

Present time, Contestant's Tower

Lunch tasted horrible. Conrad immediately understood why Gwendal had secretly thrown his untouched food in to the trash bin earlier. In the background, he could vaguely hear Anissina lecturing to his frustrated older brother about the importance of nutrition, and Gunter happily munching on his banana jam-filled _onigiri_ while some random passers-by gagged at the sight.

Conrad sighed softly, spooning another piece of inedible-looking chopped vegetable before tossing it to the side of his plate. What had happened to the royal kitchen anyway? It was a good thing that he had had dango earlier. He sighed again when he realized that thinking about the dango drifted his mind back to Yuuri.

…Well, actually at this rate, _everything_ reminded him of the king, especially when he unconsciously turned at the direction of the spectators tower. Perhaps it was just his war-induced neurosis, when he sometimes felt an intense stare coming from that direction.

Conrad shrugged the unreasonable discomfort off and looked down at his meal again, as if trying to find something bizarre enough inside to distract him even for a moment.

"…Brother."

Conrad jolted, dimly remembering how he knocked on the unused bread knife and sent it falling on to the floor noisily. His eyes widened in horror as the knife landed right next to someone's feet. And the all too familiar 'someone' bent down to pick it up.

"Challenge accepted. So, what kind of competition do you call for?" Wolfram smirked, enjoying the unusual fright on his older brother's face as he brushed it off with a wave of his hand, "…Kidding. Nobody saw it anyway."

One innocent contestant who happened to sit close by opened his mouth to say that he had witnessed it, then smartly closed it again as Wolfram whipped his head to the young man and threw him one 'meaningful' glare that equaled more threats than he had ever known in his life.

"Is this seat occupied?" Wolfram gestured to the empty seat across from the tense brunet. He had placed his tray on the table before picking up the knife.

Conrad shook his head in the negative, taking a bite of the over-salted chicken breast, munching on it slowly while fighting a grimace.

Wolfram sat down and began his meal. Conrad mildly noticed that his little brother's food looked a little bit more decent than his, but decided not to push on the affair. He calmly sliced on his boiled potato and sighed in relief that it tasted marginally more normal than the other portions of the lunch. At least he had known which food to pick when rendered speechless or needed time to think about how to respond. He could feel Wolfram's eyes following his movements, seeking for the right time to bring the conversation up.

"It surprised me," The blond started, still looking down at the content of his plate indifferently, "Your decision to enter the audition."

Conrad coughed an affirmative, vaguely remembering how Wolfram had looked at him earlier at the technical meeting. He had been able to guess that the blond wanted to tell him something, and that all the other reasons he had come up with earlier only emphasized how much of an 'in-denial' person he was. Hushing negative thoughts away, Conrad reached for his flask, only to realize that it was empty. There, another thing brought his mind back to Yuuri. It always did.

"I thought that you'd definitely resign," Wolfram picked up his own glass and placed it in front of the slightly dazed man, "To protect my feelings. You were always like that. You had always put other's feelings above your own. Or at least you think you do."

Whatever dazed state the older man had formerly been in, _that_ seemed to wake him up entirely. Conrad tried to form words and respond, but ended up silencing himself with another slice of the potato. He had wanted to talk back and correct the last statement, but quickly realized that Wolfram probably wasn't done talking. It was always important for him to gain as much information as he could gather before taking a crucial action. If there were still things Wolfram wanted to let him know, he'd make it easier for both of them.

"I've been thinking." Wolfram started again, using his fork to toss a piece of meat on to his fried noodles and roll it around. Conrad amusedly noted that the blond was supposed to have stopped playing with his food many years ago. "About… things."

Another pause. Conrad stopped picking on his potato and started listening very carefully.

"It might sound strange coming from me… but…" A brief pause, "Do you think you can and will…" another pause. Wolfram seemed to be stumbling with the proper statements to use. "Compete with me for Yuuri's heart?"

Conrad could see how the words Wolfram had difficultly choosing backfired and made his tongue itch. The straightforwardness of the question made his stomach tighten too, as he dimly remembered hearing from Yozak that Wolfram had _known_. The blond flushed bright red in embarrassment and avoided Conrad's narrowed eyes. "Just answer, yes or no."

"Wolfram, I…"

"Yes or no."

"I don't know."

The thing that had surprised Wolfram the most was probably the lack of pause before Conrad answered. Conrad hadn't even given it a second thought before he had responded, as if he had been asking the very same question to himself repeatedly…and coming to the very same dead end. He didn't know. While it frustrated Wolfram to not get a proper answer, the blond knew very well how Conrad was feeling at the moment. He'd most probably say 'yes' to the question had he been in the same situation, but deep in his heart, he knew that the true answer was the same. He didn't know. Both of them didn't know. It felt so pathetic. They were lucky that Yuuri wasn't the type of person who would have just laughed at their stupidity and go off with some other who could provide steadier relationships and louder love declarations.

"I don't know if I could do the same thing to you either." Wolfram admitted with a small voice, surprising Conrad with the honesty it held, "But I insist that you at least try."

"Why?" seemed to be Conrad's automatic, though unintended response.

Wolfram inhaled deeply before settling himself to answer, hoping that it sounded firm and sincere enough. "Because there're some things that will be useless if you don't gain it in fair play."

There was a long pause, in which none of them actually tried to use the food as an excuse to remain silent.

"…I have no reason to compete with you." Conrad said softly as he put down his fork and knife, suddenly feeling too nauseous to finish (the edible-looking parts of) his lunch. The number of people who knew about the direct line between his stomach and his mind was about as small as the number of people who knew that the person who had first taught him how to cook was Gwendal (he still kept his first pink frilly teddy-bear apron under his pile of childhood clothes, hoping that no one would ever find it). His feelings and thoughts always seemed to have a way of influencing his eating habits, or in this case his digestion.

"You're his fiancé. That should be more than enough reason for me not to do anything."

Conrad wasn't sure whether it was the answer or the faked nonchalant manner as he had spoken it that had irritated the blond the most. Whichever it was, Wolfram could still look angry enough to fling the knife instead of dropping it normally at his feet at the moment.

"Why didn't you tell yourself that before you started making advances on him?!" The blond hissed irately. Despite his anger, Wolfram looked like he was still trying to lower his voice and make the conversation as private as possible. He looked around to make sure that nobody was overhearing them before turning back to his older brother, who looked like someone had just pressed his 'Reset' button and restarted his brain.

_Advances… have I been…_ Conrad searched through his memories, remembering how he had seemed to always find a reason to touch the king; from the 'he's still wobbly(airsick) from riding the horse(skeleton)', the 'I'm thankful that he's safe', the 'he might fall if I don't', to the most common 'he needs my encouragement at this time' reasoning. Or how he had always tried to look nice and dependable around the boy, sometimes going beyond his limitations. Or how he had been unreasonably telling himself to check on Yuuri's bedroom in the middle of the night for the same 'just _in case_' excuse, which had gone overboard a few weeks after the 'attack'.

Conrad's brain froze again for a moment, relishing the freshly uncovered fact that he _had_ indeed been making advances. The knots in his stomach tightened, as he tried to fight the wave of nausea and told himself repeatedly that vomiting in front of Wolfram wouldn't solve the problem for them. Settling down would be the best solution. He just wasn't sure if he could handle it.

Noticing how Conrad's face was losing blood rapidly, and being one of the few people who knew about Conrad's stomach's… weakness, Wolfram decided to close the case and started with a new one, which had been the whole point of him trying to make the conversation with Conrad.

"Sorry, maybe I said too much."

Conrad shook his head weakly, "…Don't worry." A defeated sigh, "I deserve it."

Another moment of silence fell, making both of them grow more and more uncomfortable as the clock ticked by, until Wolfram decided that it was time to break the silence.

"The engagement was accidental." The blond was surprised at how easy the words flowed out of his mouth, while he had repeatedly prohibited it from even crossing his mind before, "He didn't even mean his proposal."

Conrad seemed to have been rendered stunned for a moment for the same reason.

"It's still an official proposal, as long as none of you call it off." He reasoned, not entirely sure if it sounded sincerely comforting or hypocritically offending.

"I don't know why he hasn't done it yet…" Wolfram's eyes looked uncharacteristically piteous, "He's always so carefree. I can't be sure if he hasn't done it because he doesn't take it seriously, or because he really likes me."

Conrad silently agreed. Despite his natural easy-going personality and honesty, Yuuri was also sometimes very hard to read. The contents of the king's brain were likely irregular and un-indexed, sometimes making it hard to foretell his next move and guess what he was thinking about. Yuuri was ridiculous like that. Conrad thought that it was merely one of his loveable qualities, though.

"Anyhow, I think this condition makes us even." Wolfram seemed embarrassed for having said another mushy and honest thing, "I know you've been trying to hold yourself back, but you're only stalling the end."

Conrad raised an eyebrow, "What end?"

"Yuuri's final decision."

"He…" Conrad froze again. If his conversation with Yozak had never taken place, and he hadn't seen Yuuri acting unlike himself earlier, he might have been able to state out clearly that the king didn't even consider him as one of the 'choices'. It often made his stomach flutter when he thought about the possibility; especially since Yuuri had been extra clingy and touchy-feely lately. All the reasoning he had accumulated over the months had suddenly become meaningless when Yozak had confronted him with the fact that morning. Yuuri _might_ like him, and he _might_ not mind the extra attention at all. Would it make both of them cheaters? For once, Conrad wished that he had been born with Yozak's sense of morality.

…Or in second thought… maybe not to that extreme.

"Sooner or later, Yuuri will confirm everything for us, who he chooses, and the reason behind his choice. That's what I believe." Wolfram continued, looking oddly calm while talking about something that should have been a sore spot for both of them, "Until that time, I hope you will stop pretending and show him how you really feel. Like what I'll do. So he can judge more wisely."

Conrad nodded weakly, suddenly feeling too tired to deal with anymore denials.

"Anyway," The blond took a hold of his long-abandoned fork, seeming a lot more ready for his lunch now, "This isn't war, so there's no winning or losing."

For a moment, Conrad was captivated at the depth of the words. The wisdom they held was beyond Wolfram's years (a youngster in Mazoku age), and it humbled Conrad somewhat.

While a glass of champagne did better for a celebration, a piece of over-sauced meat was held up instead, "But I still expect you to do your best. Hold back, or tell the wimp about this conversation, and I won't forgive you."

With that, Wolfram started eating and didn't seem to expect an answer soon.

Conrad looked down at his own meal and suddenly felt _very_ hungry. He retrieved his fork and started eating; cleaning his plate without identifying each item he put in his mouth like before. Then he looked at Wolfram, who was still eating at a slower pace. Maybe seconds wouldn't hurt. After all, most of the people were too queasy to finish their share.

The rest of lunch was relatively quiet, a distinct contrast to the people's gaping reaction when they saw the pile of empty plates on Conrad's and Wolfram's table afterwards.

TBC

I'm working as fast as I can on part B, which you all should skip (or divide in to small parts to read one in a day) in case you couldn't handle the sugariness in more than one thousand words.

Information (i) 

**Nurse** – Juliet's servant. I think nobody would fit this character's costume better than our one and only Gunter-sama. –grins-

**Paris** – Juliet's fiancé and the real inspiration of Wolfram's character birth, perhaps?

**Mercutio** – Romeo's friend, Yozak's role

**Tybalt** – Juliet's cousin, Murata's role

**Prince(ss) – **Prince(ss) of Verona, Anissina's role, gender-altered to celebrate women-emancipation…

**Friar Lawrence – **The Franciscan who marries Romeo and Juliet, Gwendal's role

**Lady Montague** – Romeo's mother, Gisela's role, is a widow for altered plot's sake…

**Lady Capulet** – Juliet's mother, Cheri's role.


	5. Chapter 4b

AXIOMATIC Chapter Four part B – Scene Number Thirty Three (part Two) A Sequel to Heels Over Head **A ConYuu Fan-fiction**

By: Ami

Beta-reader: **Sherlockian Slytherin **a.k.a** Proud Snapist**

Alternate Universe, spoilers, maybe

_Specially dedicated to_:** Prosopopeia**, who I can always rely on to make my day! -snuggles- -snuggles- -happy sigh-

**Special Note:** This fic will end in one/two more chapter(s), and an epilogue will conclude everything. Happy holiday, everyone!

Standard disclaimers apply.

DISCLAIMER TO ALL SHAKESPEAREAN FANS: PLEASE DO NOT TAKE THIS STORY AS A SERIOUS RENDITION OF ROMEO & JULIET!! Therefore, no flames, just humorous LOLs, if you would.

XXX

Bizarre.

That was about the only word Conrad could use for his current situation at the moment.

He leaned forward on his seat, for once ignoring how sloppy and nonchalant he looked at the time. Those around him were all too busy with their own business to care, after all.

He looked up and saw Yozak seated on the couch at the side of the stage, still giggling maniacally even after rereading the script for like… the hundredth time. Yes, the redhead must really, _really_ like it. And he hadn't stopped grinning for two, no, three to four weeks straight whenever they met. Conrad gave in to another mental sigh at what he foresaw as the not-so-bright future.

He turned his eyes away only to be greeted by the sight of Cheri, who looked very pleased with her new hairstyle. Her normally blond hair had been dyed to a sweet chocolate brown color, with a loose ponytail tied with a blue ribbon. Yuuri's jaw had dropped to the floor the first time he had seen her walking around with the new hairstyle and his mother's trademark 'silly' dress, complete with a frilly pastel-colored apron with bunny designs, a spatula in one hand and a plate of scrambled eggs in the other. While her outer appearance was 'bright' enough to hurt one's eyes, according to her 'son' (Yuuri), it was her 'Yuu-chan!' screeching that was the most perturbing.

Conrad, the only person in the place who had seen and talked with Yuuri's mother directly, was greatly impressed by Anissina's sharp mind, to be able to determine the cheerful housewife look so accurately just by hearing Yuuri's offhanded explanations about her looks and attitudes (and he _had_ sensed something suspicious when the woman had suddenly shown some interest in Yuuri's family). The overall almost-perfect outcome was partly courtesy of so many actual similarities between the two mothers, though.

As his eyes roamed around in the main hall, Conrad stumbled on Gisela, who was making a perfectly witty imitation of his mother. She looked good as a wavy-haired blonde with one of Cheri's best dresses on, but the makeup was a bit overdone and so were her dismal attempts at imitating his mother's behavior. Conrad turned to see his sullen older brother, Friar Gwendal, standing in one corner while using his holy staff to shoo away the rather persistent makeup artists, and there sat the pretty Nurse Gunter in another corner, looking just as gorgeous as usual in white, sulking after Yuuri outright rejected putting on the costume during the rehearsals. Conrad knew that this show, purposefully or not, was definitely going to be a theatrical parody. It was a good thing that they weren't in Yuuri's world, or the Shakespeare fans would have wailed at seeing this.

Conrad looked down at his own attire, which consisted of his normal uniform since his costume had been damaged during the lottery, and finally gave his thoroughly tormented eyes a rest. But no sooner that he should think those thoughts, his gaze immediately fell on the cursed script. Well on the blessed side, the script had '_kindly_' showed him how cute Yuuri could be when he was annoyed and embarrassed at the same time. The king's scandalized face had also been so priceless that Conrad could almost _feel_ little floating pink hearts circling his head. But the official holder of the Romeo-role also agreed that something as general as a drama script shouldn't have been strong enough to cause severe brain-damage.

He took another glance at the aforementioned 'brain-damager' screenplay, which looked back at him with a rather wide grin and a playful wink. Conrad promptly settled that it might have crushed his brain too when he decided to reopen and reread it, _again_. Soon, he started smiling widely, _again_.

XXX

"_Once upon a time, there lived two families in a boring old town. Both were equally rich and powerful, so naturally, they came to hate each other and got in to unreasonable brawls every time they met…_" Wolffie, who had somehow ended up taking the narrator role (Murata's recommendation), ended the statement with a gagging sound, "What the hell! You are seriously playing this script?!"

"Everyone's a critic," Murata muttered calmly as he plucked the script back from his stepbrother, who was still making exaggerated appalled expressions, "This isn't a bad script. It has some useful moral values."

Wolffie snorted skeptically, tapping the microphone in front of them twice to make sure that it was really off, "And one of them is?"

"Never reveal your family situation to an author before making him/her sign a sealed official agreement to not include it in any of his/her works."

XXX

Conrad was in the middle of rereading his favorite part, scene number seven, in which Romeo and Juliet meet for the first time when some molesters attack Juliet on her way to the Capulet Ball and Romeo saves her. The similarity of the scene to when Yuuri had first arrived to Shin Makoku amused him to no end… at least until he thought about all the destructive possible reactions from Adalbert when he happened to hear or maybe watch it. He should really remind Anissina to place a 'Standard disclaimers apply' sign before starting the show, for the good of Shin Makoku.

When he finally reached his next favorite scene, the infamous balcony scene (where Juliet's baseball accidentally hits Romeo on the head as she exercises in her room with the nurse), he sensed Anissina and Yuuri's presence, who had seemed to conclude their important and private conversation regarding a… situation. He wasn't sure why Yuuri was blushing so adorably like that, but from the smug look Anissina was heavily sporting; he knew that no changes, at least the significant ones, would be done to their screenplay.

"Have you memorized your lines?" Anissina regarded him amiably. If her fan club at the moment consisted mostly of females, Conrad was sure that she'd gain more male ones right after the show with the princess costume.

"I'm afraid I haven't memorized them all yet." Conrad was suddenly feeling very self-conscious about his worn out and dog-eared script, while he had just received it the day before.

"Well, you certainly are working hard." The red-haired woman gave him an all too knowing look, which caused a cute blush to grace the gentleman's cheeks, making him look a lot younger than he actually was. Yuuri found himself wondering whether to thank the woman or to be jealous of her for being able to cause such a priceless expression on Conrad's handsome face.

"Anyway, since we have all straightened up our… misunderstandings, I suppose we can start the rehearsal now." Anissina pulled her super megaphone out of nowhere and turned the volume up. The screeching sound it caused alone had been enough to gain everybody's notice. "Attention, everyone, get back to your seats, except for the cast for the first scene, go behind the stage to prepare yourselves."

Yuuri sighed blissfully as he settled himself on the cushioned seat next to his favorite person, throwing the already flustered man a bright smile before proceeding to flip his own script open and start memorizing his lines. Conrad struggled to keep his eyes on the blurred words in front of him and away from the small and content smile on the king's lips.

"Starting today at this same time and place, we're going to hold our rehearsals until the day of the performance. Scripts are allowed on stage for the time being." Anissina announced while waiting for the preparations, "However, I expect you to have left it in your room by the third rehearsal."

Panicking gasps could be heard almost instantly. Yuuri was vaguely reminded of his friends' loud and exaggerated groans whenever their teacher announced the pathetic results of their quizzes or gave out a galore of homework for the weekend.

"_Ano_… Anissina-san…" Someone raised his hand reluctantly, after getting repeatedly shoved forward by his 'former'-friends.

"Don't you think… it's too much? I mean…" He stuttered, cowering under the lady's rather menacing eyes, "Some… most of us… are busy… and… to memorize all those lines in two days…"

"Oh, my mistake," Only experienced eyes like Gwendal's could have distinguished Anissina's sincere apologetic smile from _that_, "_One_ day should be more than enough to memorize those simple lines. Please leave your script tomorrow and set a good example to the others. Thank you."

"Anymore objections?"

Anissina didn't even need to look up to confirm the answer.

"All ready? Scene one, action!"

XXX

Conrad woke up to the lingering feeling of the rough and dusty surface of Yuuri's slipper in his hand, which would have sounded pretty weird without the memory of his recent dream. It was always the same scene repeated over and over.

It was the same cold wind, which blew away everything else around Conrad but _him_. He couldn't exactly see Yuuri, but he could hear someone yelling the boy's name in the darkness, which instantly set Conrad's internal alarm off. He reflexively turned around to grab onto _anything_. It happened to be Yuuri's left, or right leg, and it felt like whomever was pulling his king from the other side was a lot stronger than him. His arm felt numb, and his hold was faltering within seconds. Then he heard Yuuri's voice, yelling at him to let go. Suddenly the ankle he had been stubbornly holding onto disappeared. The dark sky cleared, morning arrived earlier than dawn.

Having fallen on both knees while nursing his erratically beating heart, Conrad could only stare down at his hand, at the honey-colored bunny slipper he _somehow_ recognized as Yuuri's. He stayed in that position for a very long time, until he felt a pair of arms sneakily made their way around his waist; a warm chest pressing against his back followed not long after.

"_Morning, Love. Is it my slipper you're pondering on?"_

"Morning, sunshine,"

Conrad tensed and promptly sat up, only to be greeted by Yozak's heavily grinning face. It was not one of his favorite morning views, but he had had worse. He just needed to avoid direct contact with the treacherous leer of Yozak's face, and he'd be fine. Hopefully.

"Mr. 'I-always-get-up-before-the-sun-does_­­_' is not feeling well today?" With his usual amount of respect for other people's personal space, the redhead approached the bed and flopped down beside his beloved commander. Conrad looked like he was about to glare, but promptly dismissed the idea after a brief glance at the stingingly clear day outside his window.

"What is it?"

"What is what?"

"Your reason for being here instead of tormenting other innocents", Conrad almost replied. But like the polite, sensible, 'I-have-just-punched-this-person-in-the-face-and-haven't-apologized-yet' guy he was, the brunet swallowed the sarcasm back, sighing deeply in the process, only to end up with another one.

"You don't usually saunter in to people's rooms in the morning without a reason."

Yozak giggled with an eerily girly tone, "Oh my, you really are the one who knows me the best, Dear Commander! I knew I should have asked for your help in the making of my autobiography!"

Conrad sighed again. He knew he should have just remained composed. Yozak hated it the most when his infuriating methods failed to penetrate the other man's polite mask. Having Conrad talk back and argue with him would only encourage him to do, try and entertain himself more.

"You're correct anyway, I always saunter for a reason."

It didn't take long for Conrad to notice the small piece of paper the redhead was waving at him. He threw the smirking man one last suspicious glance before making a move to obtain it. It surprised him a tad that Yozak didn't make him do any extra work to obtain the note from him, but he was simply too grateful to complain.

"What is this?"

"Probably a love note. From Dear King Yuuri."

A glare.

A shrug.

Conrad tried not to look too eager as he unfolded the paper and took a brief glance of its overall contents.

His heart did a rather painful euphoric jump as he noticed the Japanese characters, in Yuuri's neat scripts.

"You can read that?" Yozak's curious voice roused his temporarily paralyzed senses.

"It's been some time, but I think I still can remember how." He replied, still staring at each word dreamily.

"Oh," Yozak sounded disappointed for being left out of the fun, "What does the boy say anyway? Good morning, Love, I love you or something even mushier?"

"_Morning, Love. Is it my slipper you're pondering on?"_

Conrad froze for a brief moment, recalling his dream once more. He was not the Maou. He had no magic power. His dream didn't mean anything. No matter how real it felt.

"It's none of your business."

While Yozak was moaning his heart out, complaining about how mean Conrad was to him after all his efforts to deliver the love-note he couldn't even read, the brunet glanced at the foreign characters and sighed in relief after realizing that he hadn't forgotten how to read them. And using Japanese fonts, there would be no one in the castle other than him and Yuuri who would be able to replicate and read their notes. It was kind of convenient.

_Conrad,_

_Remember your promise._

_Let's skip breakfast and meet up at the maze garden to talk about it._

_-Yuuri_

"Promise?" Conrad whispered softly.

"Promise?" Yozak's ears perked up as he went closer to steal a glance at the contents of the note.

Conrad folded the paper back and glared.

"Easy, easy. I can't read it, remember?"

The distrusting brunet remained silent as he gestured the other man to move away while he was trying to get out of the bed. He placed the note in the drawer of his nightstand, and made a mental note to move it away to a safer place later.

"Thank you for your trouble," In Conrad-ish, which Yozak had become accustomed to, it usually meant 'your damage is done. Leave NOW'.

"No problem." Yozak calmly replied as he got to his feet to give his commander the privacy he'd need to get dressed before doing the 'promised' things with the king.

Conrad was once more astounded by Yozak's lack of his usual playful (if not insufferable) attitude. He had been very sure that he would have needed more patience and determination to manhandle the other man out of his room, but there Yozak was, walking to his exit without being escorted. It had to be the end of the world.

Or…

"Yozak,"

"Yes?"

Conrad was suddenly aware of the weariness visible on his friend's face, as it had been cleverly masked with his trademark-annoying grin earlier. He also vaguely noticed that the signs of bruises he had imparted Yozak the day before had vanished completely. It didn't make him feel less guilty, though.

"I'm sorry."

The moment the slightly shaky words slipped out of his mouth, Conrad felt a strong urge to push them back inside and seal them for good, especially since Yozak was now giving him an open 'what-the-bleep-' stare that could only be conveyed as pure bewilderment. He ignored the awkwardness in the air for the other part of him that had been purified from a large mass of guilt, at least for a moment, before…

"For what?"

"Of course you know why."

"Seriously, I don't."

At first, Conrad thought that Yozak was just asking to tease him, but soon, both men found themselves staring at each other with an equally inquiring look. There was no mistaking _that_ look, and Yozak hadn't broken in to his usual silly 'gotcha' grins yet.

Conrad frowned. That man had to be the best actor he had ever met. He only hoped that the redhead's reluctance to bring up the topic meant that he had been forgiven. Yozak was peculiar like that.

"It's okay then," He turned his gaze away to the glass window, through which he could see the maze garden that had just been built a few weeks before. As the clouds were thick and grayish outside, Conrad found himself whispering a prayer for a clear day.

XXX

"Romeo, is your head all right? How did you sneak inside…"

"It's 'passed through the walls'. And once again, your speech is toneless."

"You shouldn't be here, my guards are going to kill you if they find you here. Please… err…"

"—'Throw my bat back to me and leave now'. God, you're worse than an elementary student. They're such simple lines and you couldn't memorize a thing."

"Hey, that's rude! I'm trying here!"

"That one was totally off the scenario, stupid wimp."

"I wasn't reciting my lines! And when have you learned to speak like Wolfram, anyway?!"

"Come on, enough with the bickering, kids." Murata scolded half-heartedly as he picked the freshly cooked pancakes up, piled them up on a plate and poured a generous amount of syrup on them, smiling at his stepbrother's eager eyes. "Do you think you can memorize those lines before the third rehearsal, Shibuya?"

"I'm trying to." With a soft huff, the king slumped down, pressing his forehead against the open script on the table while murmuring the forgotten lines, Murata presumed, if not grumbling about their cruel slave-driver of a director.

"Forget it. He'll never make it." Wolffie snorted as he folded his arms and flopped down on his seat, eyeing his favorite breakfast impatiently, "We should have just skipped this pointless practice, hired someone who could narrate the lines behind the stage and attach a micro-speaker to his ear."

"You're not helping at all!!!"

"Breakfast's ready." Murata figured it was more efficient than yelling. It was still too early in the morning, after all. How Yuuri had managed to get Wolffie out of his bed to help him with his lines was still a mystery. The older fairy pouted inwardly at how mysterious Yuuri seemed to grow everyday. For a starter, he had once seen the king coming back to his room in the middle of the night from some mysterious activities that had left him looking very tired. Murata also noticed that Yuuri was getting smarter and better at concealing his secrets, which made him think twice before asking about the king's late night rendezvous. And the last, which actually made him the most nervous, sometimes Yuuri would look at Murata with such a… knowing look.

_Maybe his memories… No,_ Murata chuckled as he handed his handkerchief over to his syrup-coated stepbrother, and stole another glance at the equally amused demon king. _Even with his level of magical power… No. I don't think so._

"You sure you don't want any?" He asked Yuuri one last time before reaching out for his own share.

"I'm sure." Yuuri's face brightened, as if he had just been reminded of the reason why he had been up a few hours earlier than usual and hadn't declared war with the world in general yet. Murata thought that he would have to use one of his several secret techniques to make Yuuri spill it out, before the boy considerately saved him from the trouble.

"I promised to meet up with Conrad at the maze garden in about half an hour."

Wolffie snorted at the extra sparks the king was emitting and promptly decided to tune the conversation out to concentrate on his precious meal.

Murata merely smiled and nodded approvingly at the plan, "Sounds great. You plan on having breakfast with him?"

"Yes." Yuuri grinned sheepishly, "Actually, I plan on making breakfast for him."

Wolffie choked, fervently reached for his drink, and gulped the whole glass down before looking up while smirking in amusement, pointedly ignoring Yuuri's venomous glare.

Taking pity on his ex-master, Murata cleared his throat and announced gravely, "It isn't like you know how to cook either."

Wolffie folded his arms and threw a glare at his stepbrother's general direction, "At least I stick to doing what I'm good at. And I've never tried to play housewife with the man I have a crush on."

"I'm not playing housewife! It's just that the article says…" Yuuri trailed off before shutting up completely, realizing what kind of embarrassing situation the conversation would lead him to if he even dared to continue. Flushing the familiar redness he seemed to always bear every time they talked about Conrad or anything that remotely sounded like him, the king grabbed his apron and excused himself in to the kitchen.

Murata glanced at the cloudy sky through the window and found himself wondering what kind of 'magical' food that could both capture a man's heart through his stomach and be prepared in less than half an hour.

XXX

_It definitely is going to rain._

Conrad noted grimly as he looked up to the sky, which looked ever cloudier than before. Several passer-bys looked at him funny when they spotted him standing by the garden's main entrance while his family had gathered in the dining room for breakfast. Several maids had even decided to sweep or clean something nearby, stealing glances at him and each other with suppressed giggles.

Trying to ignore the growing discomfiture, Conrad tried to concentrate on recalling what kind of thing he had promised to Yuuri. The boy would surely be disappointed if he didn't remember about their promise. Was it about the performance? Did he promise to rehearse together? Why the maze garden? Or was it a present? How was he supposed to bring the present if he didn't remember what it was?

Conrad shook his head in frustration, hearing the vague noises of giggles in the background. It wasn't good. Maybe he'd just confess and apologize. Yuuri might…

"Here."

Conrad would have instinctively reached for his sword if the voice was less familiar. Mentally scolding himself for getting caught off guard, the brunet looked up to his younger brother's scowling face, then down to the piece of paper he was handing over.

"Wolfram?"

It took him a moment to register the major oddness he had glimpsed in his little brother's face earlier. This Wolfram's eyes were no longer the usual captivating jade. They were now tinted scarlet instead; a shade that Conrad never expected to look so good on the blond.

"Your eyes… what…"

"Whatever. Just take it." The blond replied impatiently. The frown he was displaying reminded Conrad of the big one his older brother had worn the day before. Even their expressions looked similar. Such wonders of being brothers. And people often commented the three of them didn't look like each other at all.

Earning another irritated growl from his brother, Conrad muttered a quick apology and took the paper, which looked similar to the one he had received from Yozak earlier. 'Wolfram' threw him one last annoyed glance before turning around and walking away, presumably to resume his beauty sleep. The blond was always the crankiest in the morning, after all.

Turning his attention back to the piece of paper, Conrad carefully unfolded it and found more Japanese characters, which seemed to have officially become his and Yuuri's secret code.

_Enter the maze and follow the path in the enclosed map. I'll be waiting at the exit._

_Yuuri_

XXX

Having secured all of his bags on the horse, Yuuri patted the black horse's head with a satisfied sigh. Ao happily leaned in to the boy's touch, almost knocking its master down in the process.

"That's the last one. I think we've packed everything."

"I guess." Murata nodded as he glanced at his surroundings in amusement, "This secret path has to be your idea."

Yuuri grinned proudly, "I figured it'd be nice to be able to go out and come back without having to ask for permission."

The fairy nodded again approvingly, despite his next statement, "But are you sure this is secure? Nobody is guarding this entrance. What if some bad guys try to enter the castle from this path?"

"Just leave everything to me. This door is special." The king sneered smugly as if he had been expecting the question earlier as he moved to demonstrate.

"Watch," Yuuri pushed the large wooden door open, slipped out and closed it down again. Murata waited curiously in front of the door, wondering what specialty the simple-looking door might retain. A moment later, the handle of the door jiggled, as if someone was trying to open it from outside, but the door never budged from the effort as if it had been locked. But when he reached down on the knob, it opened easily.

Then the smug-looking boy reentered the area with a victorious grin, "See? The door won't open from the outside. And I also asked Ulrike-sama to reinforce the wood for the door with magic so no physical or magical force would be able to damage it."

It took Murata a moment to recover from his astonishment.

"That's surprisingly thoughtful of you."

"Well… you see…" Yuuri scratched the back of his head with a thin, and possibly forced smile, "I just don't want to endanger other people again."

Yuuri seemed reluctant to tell more.

"Is it about 'the attack'?"

Murata had heard the story from the gossiping maids whom he had quickly bonded with the moment he had entered the castle, as they were a relatively accurate and easy source of information, despite their unified disinclination to go in to details.

Yuuri gave him another averse nod and started to frown; something he very rarely did, like being attentive.

"…It was so awful… I don't want something like that to happen… ever again…" The king spoke with a soft voice. When he finally looked up, Murata thought that the dark eyes would definitely be watery, but they didn't. Instead, they displayed a look of determination, bright with optimism.

"I can't depend on other people and the magical power I can't control all the time. So I asked Conrad to teach me how to use a sword, and the basics for martial arts." Yuuri smiled and demonstrated some of the moves he had learned with an imaginary sword (Conrad hadn't permitted him to keep a real one, yet), "It's somewhat different from my baseball training in my world, but the basics are the same; strength, accuracy and agility. Only harder."

"I'm sure it is." Murata smiled in relief that the lively sparks had returned to the boy's eyes, "I've never seen you train since I arrived here."

"That's because Conrad has been really busy with the new batch of soldiers. So I insisted that he take a break from watching over me, while I trained myself at night." Yuuri did another swing with his imaginary sword. For a beginner, the king's stance looked rather promising to Murata, who had seen countless kinds of sword techniques before. The explanation had also concluded the mystery of what Yuuri had been doing that night. How the king could still wake up early and bounce energetically throughout the day was another unsolved mystery, though.

"I know several things about sword techniques. So next time you can wake me up and ask for my assistance." Murata offered. And knowing very well that Yuuri was going to reject it, he added only too innocently.

"Sir Conrad will definitely be very proud of you if you could show him how much you have improved during this short time. He'll also have one less thing to keep him awake at night, since you have become capable of taking care of yourself."

_That_ had the king hooked. Murata had expected the eager nod and grateful 'thanks', but the flash of darkness and regret in his eyes was another proof of how truly complicated the inner workings of Yuuri's mind were.

"I really have to stop making Conrad worry." He heard the boy mumble very softly, before returning to normal as he looked up while heaving a small sigh.

"That _teruterubouzu_**(i)** had better work this time…"

XXX

The strong smell of fresh soil and concern for incoming rain had been long forgotten by the time Conrad finally reached his destination. For a moment he wondered how long he had struggled with the labyrinth of foliage before getting there, but at least Yuuri didn't look like he had waited for too long. In fact, the king's smile was even more brilliant than the sunshine on a blue summer's day, and more beautiful than autumn's late-afternoon light as their eyes met in a gentle motion.

While trying to keep his steps steady to approach the boy, Conrad congratulated (in an utterly sarcastic manner) himself for the fourth poem line he had conducted ever since Yuuri had confronted him about how he had looked in Juliet's dress. Maybe Gunter would appreciate those lines when he completed it and thought of a good title for the poem.

"I'm sorry. Have you been waiting long?"

Yuuri shook his head with an impossibly brighter smile, "It's okay. Now that you're here, we can go."

The military commander blinked, surveyed his surroundings, before turning both chocolate eyes back to his grinning king. For a moment, Conrad looked like he had so many inquiries to deal with, but eventually ended up with the simplest, most general one.

"…Where?"

"Out."

Something in Yuuri's look convinced him that it was all the answer he would get. After all, Yuuri was the king, and all the Maous so far always had one 'X' factor that could be described as being 'peculiar'. So he only nodded dumbly and reached for Ao, the only available horse he could see. All the thoughts about how heavy their luggage looked only lasted as long as Yuuri followed him onto the horse and as always, squirming for the most comfortable position.

"Let's go!"

XXX

"Your Majesty!"

"Your Majesty!! Where are you?"

"Your Majesty!!!"

"YOUR MAJESTYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!"

That was the last straw.

Gwendal slammed his door open and glared at the teary-eyed man, who looked as miserable as a lost and kicked puppy. The glare softened that instant.

"What do you think you're doing? He's not even here." He hissed.

The silver-haired man sniffed and merely glanced at him with _those_ adorable eyes before launching towards his direction.

"His Majesty has been missing! He didn't come for breakfast and now I can't find him anywhere!"

The dark-haired man growled in irritation. And here he thought that after the amount of study-sessions Yuuri had skipped, Gunter would have gotten used to the idea that not every student was as enthusiastic and polite as Conrad during the learning process. And to think about it, Conrad hadn't appeared for breakfast too that morning. Even the densest idiot should have been able to put two and two together by now. Maybe Gunter was just in denial.

"Look, you can continue to search in other places, but I assure you, he's not here." Gwendal mildly noted that Wolfram hadn't joined the search party for the king. The blond had even stayed calm when both Yuuri and Conrad had been absent during breakfast time.

"But---"

"No buts. Now leave and try to find that delinquent pupil of yours."

Gunter heaved a defeated sigh that almost made Gwendal feel guilty, before perking up again almost instantly, "Can I at least search your office first?"

Twitch. "NO! Now just---"

"Sir! Sir Gwendal!"

Gwendal could feel his vein throb painfully in his head as he glared at the messenger, who immediately froze at his place, eyes wide with terror. Gwendal quickly switched to his usual grumpy-but-not-murderous-self, only because an immobile messenger was even more annoying than the usual useful one.

"What is it?"

"A… um… well… it's…" The messenger furrowed his brows in concentration for a moment, desperately trying to remember what the big news of the day was, "Uh… right! It's the Geinzers**(i)**, Sir!"

Gwendal frowned. "What's wrong with them?"

"They've arrived and are waiting at the hall!"

XXX

Yuuri mentally moaned when he felt the first large drop wetting his shoulder. Before he had the chance to brush the wet spot off his uniform, several more even larger drops fell, followed by many more. Yuuri made a mental note to hang up _ten_ teruterubouzu, and maybe a footnote next time to get his point straight to this world's God of Weather, who was apparently foreign to the concept of anti-rain amulets of this type.

A few minutes later, both of them were thankfully mostly dry, along with their luggage inside a small cave Conrad had discovered along the way, Ao safely tucked and sheltered under a large tree in front of the cave. Conrad apologized and muttered something about "should have brought a coat", but Yuuri knew that he deserved most of the blame, if not all, since he was the one who had just called and dragged the brunet along without giving him a chance to prepare things.

When he told Conrad so, the older man only brushed his back gently, telling him that bad weather was nobody's fault, with a smile that made his heart skip a few beats. Fortunately for him, the cave was dim enough to hide the excessive redness of his heated cheeks.

Yuuri stayed still and watched the rain in silence for a moment, inwardly purring at the gentleness of the warm, large hand that was still brushing his cold back with a gentle motion. Heavenly. Everything felt so perfect just like this. A cold cave, pouring rain, Conrad sitting next to him, and the scent that purely smelled of earth. He almost wished that the rain would never stop.

The sound of Conrad's soft chuckle brought Yuuri back from his blissful trance. The peaceful expression on the older man's face however, offered more bliss than the accumulation of his dreams could ever do, so he wasn't complaining at all; only curious, a tad.

"What is it?"

"Oh, I'm sorry," Conrad smiled sheepishly at him, "I was just thinking that this situation is kind of similar with that time when we were trapped together in the illegal hunter's trap hole."

Yuuri blinked, looking clueless for a moment until the gears in his brain seemed to click together and made everything add up. Then he started to laugh nervously, remembering how messed up his first and latest love confession had been. In the end, all he had managed to ask the brunet was his willingness to teach him swordsmanship. He might have failed at the time, but it was still a precious experience he kept replaying before he went to sleep, so that the sweet moments would return as a dream. It worked most of the time. Or maybe he should be thanking Murata-the-dream-fairy for that.

"There's one major difference, though," The king grinned triumphantly as he pulled their heavy luggage on his lap and unwrapped it with the excitement of children at Christmas night, "Here we have food! Yuuri's Special Instant Picnic Package for Two!"

Conrad stared in amazement as Yuuri pulled out each of the items and placed them on the ground. Starting from the mat, which was a _lot_ larger than it looked when unfolded. Then following a large thermos, a smaller one, two pairs of chopsticks, a pair of chopsticks which looked a bit longer than the others, two rice bowls, two soup bowls, two more bowls, two plates, two cups, another thermos, and, finally, two food containers. Despite of the title, nothing in this picnic set looked instant at all.

Completely and utterly clueless of what to do with those complicated utensils, Conrad found himself staying still in silence as Yuuri moved around to prepare their breakfast. Several minutes later, a Japanese meal set that he had only seen in one random page of a magazine many years ago was set in front of him; a bowl of rice, a pair of chopsticks, a bowl of warm soup, a bowl of… some exotic-looking food he had never tried before, a plate of dried fish, and a cup of fresh green tea.

"All set!" Yuuri looked satisfied with his handiwork as he settled down to sit on the mat and gestured the other man to sit across from him. "Come on, come on. Don't hold back! Courtesies and table manners aren't necessary here! Just eat with the way you're most comfortable with!"

Conrad chuckled in amusement and sat down, folding his legs and trying to get comfortable.

"This is…"

"Aa, this is _Misoshiru_**(i)**, dried fish, and that one is _natto_**(i)**."

Conrad nodded, still eyeing the aforementioned _natto_ warily. For the love of Shin Maou, no food should be allowed to look that sticky and smell so… unique. Almost like the smelliest cheese, but not really. Yes, unique was definitely the perfect adjective. Anyhow, he still couldn't see himself eating _that_.

"I don't know if you had the chance to eat this back then in Japan, but I thought it'd be nice to eat together like this." Yuuri picked up his natto bowl and poured its content on his rice, stirring it slowly with his chopsticks. Conrad sighed in relief. At least Yuuri was going to show him how to eat the foreign-looking meal.

"How did you get the ingredients?" Conrad asked as he imitated the boy's methods, trying not to look too terrified at the sight of the sticky, bean-y substance mixing with the rice. The smell became even stronger as he stirred.

"Oh, that…" Yuuri grinned sheepishly, "actually, I was still holding onto my shopping bag when Murata accidentally pushed me in to the small pool at the town park and I ended up here. Since the groceries would have probably been bad by the time I returned, I put them in the fridge and asked the kitchen staff to experiment with it. That's where I got the idea for this breakfast from, anyway."

"I see…" Conrad tried to smile as Yuuri muttered an energetic '_itadakimasu' _and had his first bite. It was unimaginable how the boy could look so happy while chewing on… _that_.

"Aah, it's so nice…" The king smiled widely, "Back then, my mother often made traditional Japanese breakfasts like this. But now she prefers the Western one. Like jam, bread, eggs, or cereals."

Conrad clumsily scooped some of his rice with his chopsticks, "So that's why you asked your mother to cook with these ingredients? Because you missed it after eating Western meals for breakfast for so long?"

Yuuri paused in the middle of his happy chewing to stare at the older man in a mix of bewilderment and amazement. "How do you know that?"

The brunet merely smiled at him, the small heap of rice that had fallen from his clumsily held chopsticks was the only indicator of his discomfiture, "I was just guessing from your story. And you look so happy when you eat."

For a moment, Yuuri looked so brightly delighted that it almost hurt his eyes. In Conrad's opinion, though, it would have been the most pleasurable way to blind himself.

"You're so attentive. Maybe that's why I always feel safe when you're around." The king commented cheerfully.

Conrad returned the smile and looked back down at his food, determined to scoop and eat something before Yuuri decided to chopsticks-feed him. Not that the idea sounded horrible.

Conrad was certain that Shin Maou was punishing him for thinking those 'dirty thoughts' as he suddenly lost the grip on his chopsticks, which resulted in an even messier mess. Most of the fallen rice-natto went on his lap, as his chopsticks clinked gracelessly on the rocky surface of the cave.

The priceless look on Conrad's face as he glanced at the scattered rice and natto on his lap was something Yuuri vowed to never _ever_ forget as he lived.

XXX

"Have you seen them?"

"Ssst! Wait there and stay quiet! We're going to get caught!"

"Sorry."

"Can somebody hold the chair? It's getting wobbly!"

"That's what you get for eating like a pig last night."

"I did NOT eat like a pig! And I was very hungry because I had to help YOU sort out Anissina-sama's daily costumes!"

"Come on, girls! Don't forget that we're still doing an undercover mission here!"

"Aa! I see them! It's them! The Geinzers!! Aww, they're really as cool as rumored! It feels like I'm looking at Sir Conrad's clones!"

"WHERE? WHERE?"

Under the weight of three grown women, the after-mentioned wobbly chair finally gave way, sending the three of them on the floor with three cohesive loud thumps.

Yozak decided to enter the scene before the three girls started blaming each other loudly for their mission's failure, and before their guests noticed where the noises were coming from.

"Good afternoon, Ladies. Can I help you with something?"

At least the three red-blue-green maids still had the decency to blush rather cutely in embarrassment.

"Uh… umm… Sir Yozak… actually… We're sorry!" The blue one quickly stood up and bowed in apology, followed by her two friends before fleeing in to the quarters. Yozak folded his arms and smiled at their direction in amusement.

"Really… girls today…"

"If you're done observing the general life of young females of this era, I could use your assistance here."

Yozak turned around to find Gwendal standing in front of the door of the meeting hall with a tense-looking Wolfram, who quickly stomped away after nodding once.

"With pleasure," The redhead calmly approached the grumpy man and waited for his command. But instead of giving him a long lecture, Gwendal merely grabbed his arm and slipped a note in his hand, before whispering very carefully.

"At least for now, this is only between you and me. Meet me at my office in two hours for further explanation."

Yozak glanced at his superior's dark eyes before nodding an affirmative slowly. Before he had a chance to leave and read the note, the door cracked open, revealing a well-dressed young man with a pleasant smile and brilliant amber eyes.

"Sir Gwendal?" Even the man's voice sounded… nice. That was about too much of a good impression in one glance.

"Please wait inside while I have your rooms prepared." His choice of words and slightly deepened frown was probably the only sign of Gwendal's annoyance. Yozak was a bit surprised that the man was actually able to speak like other normal nobles.

"Oh yes. I'm sorry. But I just wanted to ask you if I could use the restroom." The man smiled sheepishly, "We've been on the road for hours since our last stop, so…"

"I understand." Gwendal threw a glance at Yozak, who had swiftly slipped the note in to his back pocket, "Then my guard will show you the way and escort you back here. You can take your time."

There was a hint of relief in the young man's face when Gwendal excused himself and slipped back in to the meeting hall. Then he smiled pleasantly at Yozak, who responded with his professional spy friendly smile and a brief nod.

"I'm sorry for troubling you."

"No, you're not a trouble at all. Welcome to Shin Makoku. Have you ever been here before? You're planning to look around? I can tell you several interesting spots in the town, if you're interested…"

XXX

The sky was still gray, but the rain had significantly slowed down. As he watched the serene cloudy scenery outside, Yuuri was suddenly feeling grateful that he hadn't given Conrad a chance to pack a coat. It gave them even more reason to stay until the rain died down completely. As much as he wanted to take a walk among the crowd in the town with Conrad, staying there alone with the man while listening to the gentle sound of the rain was quite tempting. After all, they didn't get to be alone very often now that the training sessions had been temporarily dismissed for the preparations of the party.

Thinking about the party led Yuuri to the thought of the play, which was going to pair him and Conrad up for a public show. It was definitely worth all the humiliation and embarrassing lines he had been going through. Anissina should have taken pity on him, though. Two days were definitely not enough for a major female role to remember everything written on the script. He wondered if Conrad was having the same problem.

"Say, Conrad."

The man looked up and smiled, looking somewhat drowsy. The mellow atmosphere must have been affecting him too.

"What is it, Your Majesty?"

Yuuri growled adorably, "Nothing in particular, _Nazukeoya_. I was just about to ask you if you brought your script."

Conrad chuckled heartily before pulling the thoroughly disheveled screenplay out of his inside pocket, "Here."

Yuuri accepted it gratefully before flipping through the pages. "This is bad… I haven't memorized all of my lines yet."

"It's okay. We still have today and tomorrow." Conrad assured him, "I'm sure that you'll be able to memorize them all soon."

"But I'm really weak at this… I'm not fluent with this language yet…" moaned the king, sounding a tad desperate, "I tried to read it all night long, but still…"

When the expected reply didn't come, Yuuri turned his eyes away from the semi-foreign words to a more favorable sight: a thinking Conrad. Yuuri was sure that Conrad wouldn't have believed him if he told the man that sometimes, he could look very similar to Gwendal. All significant differences aside, they were still brothers, after all; it was normal to look similar to each other. It was just a bit sad that people seemed to think that the opposite was more appropriate for the three brothers.

"How about this," Conrad seemed to have concluded his predicament. "I'll play the other characters for you. I think it will be easier for you to remember what you're supposed to say if you're in a real conversation rather than trying to memorize single line after single line."

Yuuri quickly nodded, straightened up and hoped that he didn't sound too thrilled when he said, "But since there's only one script among us, we can sit side by side and read together."

Finding no appropriate reply, Conrad merely nodded and rose up to sit beside the eager-looking boy.

It was kind of ironic how Yuuri was inwardly chanting words of thanks to the God of Weather that his _teruterubouzu_ hadn't worked.

XXX

Yozak stepped out of his room; feeling a lot more refreshed than before. Remembering the report he still had to work on, he became even more convinced that he should have declined the abrupt two-day-long scout mission. Now his muscles were killing him and none of those bastard slave-driver-for-a-leaders showed up to give him a massage. Not that he'd accept if they had really done it. They could keep their dirty hands to themselves, thank you.

Inhaling deeply, Yozak could smell the remainder of the rain. He was tempted to step back inside and resume his nap, but since a little while before, he had been feeling unusually wide-awake. He had tried closing his eyes and resuming his sleep before, but something in the back of his mind had told him to get up. Maybe it had something to do with the rehearsal that would begin in about two hours and the fact that he was starved after missing breakfast.

_I'll just grab something in the kitchen,_ he yawned again as he looked down to find his shoes, mentally categorizing the food he wanted for the lunch, _then I'll…_

The redhead blinked in puzzlement as he spotted a piece of paper, tucked neatly under his left shoe.

"Another love note I have to deliver?" He grinned inwardly as he reached down for the paper and brought it close to eye-level.

His eyes widened. All thoughts about lunch had immediately been abandoned as he hastily put on his shoes and marched towards the soldier's quarters.

XXX

"Have you ever thought about this before?" Yuuri said suddenly. Conrad's response died before it left his mouth when he looked up and was met directly by the close up sight of Yuuri's face. Biting back a gasp, Conrad quickly moved away to his side. When had they come to sit so close to each other anyway?

"This last scene, number thirty-two," Yuuri still looked obliviously occupied with the script, "It does not conclude the story."

Having read the script numerous times, Conrad knew exactly what the boy was talking about. He had also been a bit surprised at the abrupt ending of the play. The last scene only told about how both major protagonists woke up from their comas and had dinner together with their families, which had finally found peace with each other's presence. Conrad was sure that they were meant to be still in love with each other, but the fact had never been stated directly. And he hadn't found one single 'I love you' in the story. Not even one. It was just odd, especially for a play supposedly romantic in genre.

"I thought she only changed the ending, because Cheri-sama didn't like tragedy, but…" Yuuri trailed off, "This is just… not done. Romeo and Juliet don't even get to be alone and confirm their relationship after they wake up."

"I agree," The only reason why Conrad hadn't brought the problem to Anissina was because he didn't want to sound like he wasn't satisfied with the portion of his scenes together with Yuuri. Knowing Anissina, everything he told the woman might very well turn public the next day. "But it's also possible that Anissina-san just wants to keep the audiences questioning."

"That would be cruel," Yuuri commented, "Especially if we're not making a sequel. They will keep questioning forever."

Conrad did another mental nod, feeling pleasantly warm that Yuuri actually thought of making a sequel with him. And it also made the idea of an unconcluded story more acceptable. He was just hoping that she wouldn't hold another lottery to re-decide the casts.

"Anyway, I really like the overall story. Which scene do you like the most?" Yuuri asked, suddenly seeming not as disappointed in the ending as before.

Conrad felt a moment of hesitation before flipping to one particular page and showed it to the king, "This one. It always reminds me of the first time you came here. The situation is more or less similar, don't you think so?"

"You're right," Yuuri's face brightened up like a child who had just found an interesting new toy, "It really is."

Conrad watched in amusement as the boy squinted at each word, trying his best to read every one of them and compare it to the real-life situation. And it really was similar; too similar that Conrad almost thought that Anissina had interviewed one of the present witnesses before writing that particular scene.

"Great. This will make it easier for me to remember what to say," Yuuri said cheerfully, "And you know, I really did think that a knight in shining armor was coming for my rescue when I saw you riding towards me on your horse to save me."

It took Conrad exactly a minute and a half to completely digest the information, which rendered him utterly speechless. It was the best kind of speechless he had ever experienced, though.

"How about you? Which is your most favorite scene?" Conrad asked back after slipping out of his trance.

Yuuri considered it for a moment. Then he flipped the script to its middle page and pointed to one scene, where Romeo and Juliet agreed to elope and promised to see each other the next morning, not knowing the ill fate waiting for them.

"This one is the best scenes in my opinion." The king looked thoughtful as he brushed the smooth surface of the paper quietly and started reciting.

"_Both are scared. Both are aware of the sins they are about to commit. But neither is willing to stop. Neither felt insecure with their decision. They just wanted to be together. Everything else mattered no more. Nothing else but their love would keep them awake at night, longing for the golden shade of dawn."_

Conrad found himself falling in to a more uncomfortable type of speechlessness.

He supposed Yuuri intended nothing more than to emphasize his point, where he saw the scene meaningful to him; but the effect was far more destructive. Yuuri's voice was clear and steady, flowing smoothly like the gentle sway of a deep ocean. Conrad felt like drowning in its endless depths.

"Conrad."

The older man gasped out the breath he hadn't even realized he had been holding.

Yuuri's eyes were pools of shadows. Conrad briefly registered seeing his own astounded expression reflected in them before his whole vision turned in to blurry vagueness.

Yuuri's eyes may have been pools of shadows. But the feeling of his lips was absolute heaven.

XXX

Wolfram almost sagged in relief as he caught the sight of Ao, stranded and wet, but apparently hadn't lost its unappeasable appetite. Chewing cheerfully on nearby grass, the horse regarded him, or his horse, with a blank glance before turning its attention back to its delicious treat.

The blond sighed deeply as he strode towards the small cave at a slower pace. He still hadn't decided what kind of face he was going to show the king when he saw his brother in the same cave.

He could pretend that he didn't care, but he had also been the one who had told Conrad to be more honest to Yuuri. He could act like his old-self, which would look a bit more normal; except that screaming, yelling, and shouting no longer made his heart feel content.

Wolfram almost laughed at his pathetic-self. While the process of growing up was sometimes bitter, being forced to grow up tasted even worse. Then again, he realized that he had stalled for long enough. Enough was enough. He refused to stay a cranky kitten any longer. He wanted the strength he would need to help and protect the people he loved. He was glad that his older brother had trusted him enough to ask for his assistance, and he wasn't planning on disappointing him.

With the resolution firmly planted in his mind, the blond climbed down his horse and stealthily approached the entrance of the cave. When he got closer, he could smell food in the air, although it had become very faint compared to the scent of greens and earth.

Something felt strange. He could feel the two persons' presence inside the cave, but even after getting so close to the entrance, he couldn't hear any of them speaking at all.

_Better safe than sorry,_ Wolfram unsheathed his sword and pressed his back on the cold and damp rocky surface of the cave's wall, listening carefully to the smallest noises. He could hear careful footsteps, the definite opposite of Yuuri's sloppy ones. Before he decided if it was Conrad or an enemy, the person saved him the trouble and revealed himself.

"Wolfram, what are you doing here?"

The blond only hoped that his expression didn't betray his voice when he came face-to-face with the supposedly careless king, "The question best applies to yourself, stupid wimp. Where have you been wandering off to anyway? Everyone's looking for you."

Yuuri started to laugh nervously, "Well you see… I was just…"

"Having a picnic with me, as I had promised. For breakfast."

Wolfram pointedly showed how unsurprised he was by throwing an uninterested brief glance at Conrad, who had also stood up to regard his presence before narrowing his eyes to the dumbfounded king again, then the picnic mess they had left on the ground.

"Despite the weather, I'm sure you have had a pleasant picnic here." He folded his arms and continued to frown, "However, I'm afraid that the fun ends here. Brother has asked me to find you and drag you back at all costs."

Wolfram had expected Yuuri to whine, complain, or at least show some sign of disappointment in his ever so expressive face, but all he earned was a sincere nod. The raven-haired king even apologized once more for making Wolfram look around in the middle of the rain to find him there. He turned to his brother for explanation, only to get rewarded with a flat smile, which strengthened the smell of weirdness in the air.

"I'll take care of this," Conrad gestured to the messily scattered… picnic tools on the mat, "Both of you can return to the castle first. I'll catch up later."

Just when he thought that things couldn't possibly get any weirder, Wolfram noticed Yuuri's reluctance to meet his brother's eyes. The usually conversational boy only managed a weak nod before grasping his hand and pulling him away.

Stealing one last glance at the remaining person in the cave, Wolfram wondered how many years it had been since the last time he had referred to his brother as a lost puppy.

XXX

Anissina took a small sip of her herbal tea, and then placed her cup back on the table half-empty.

"So, they've finally arrived." She commented with the tone of someone who was talking about the weather with a friendly neighbor.

The three maids in front of her nodded simultaneously, for once in their generally happy life, they were grim-faced.

A moment of silence passed as Anissina took another sip and sighed in contentment.

"We certainly can't let the men hog all the tributes, can we?" She spoke again with the same tone, now laced with a lopsided smirk.

The three maids in front of her nodded again; all of them wearing a similar wolfish expression.

"We'll start the preparations as soon as I finish this."

The three maids sat down in silence, staring at Anissina's bird clock almost obsessively.

Anissina inserted a new paper in her typing machine, adjusted it, and typed up a few words before rising up and announced that she was ready to go.

The maids stared at her incredulously.

"…That was it? Are you sure you're done, Anissina-sama?"

"I'm quite sure." The red-haired woman smiled, "After all, it's not my job to decide in the first place."

If anything, the puzzlement in the girls' looks was intensified.

Anissina's smile looked uncharacteristically enigmatic.

"Let's go."

Out of curiosity, one last maid who was supposed to close the door braved a look at the piece of paper her mistress had worked on earlier.

It merely said:

'ACT 33'

XXX

TBC

Information (i) 

**Teruterubouzu – **A cute-looking amulet Japanese people use to pray for a sunny day.

**Geinzers** – In case you've forgotten, are the honored guests the play is dedicated for. You can find more information about this clan in chapter one.

**Misoshiru** – A traditional Japanese soup.

**Natto** – A traditional Japanese food made from fermented soybeans.

Casts 

**Nurse** – Juliet's servant. I think nobody would fit this character's costume better than our one and only Gunter-sama. –grins-

**Paris** – Juliet's fiancé and the real inspiration of Wolfram's character birth, perhaps?

**Mercutio** – Romeo's friend, Yozak's role

**Tybalt** – Juliet's cousin, Murata's role

**Prince(ss) – **Prince(ss) of Verona, Anissina's role, gender-altered to celebrate women-emancipation…

**Friar Lawrence – **The Franciscan who marries Romeo and Juliet, Gwendal's role

**Lady Montague** – Romeo's mother, Gisela's role, is a widow for altered plot's sake…

**Lady Capulet** – Juliet's mother, Cheri's role.


	6. Chapter 5

AXIOMATIC Chapter Five – Ivy Fidelity A Sequel to Heels Over Head **A ConYuu Fan-fiction**

By: Ami

Beta-reader: **Sherlockian Slytherin **a.k.a** Proud Snapist**

Alternate Universe, spoilers, maybe

_Specially dedicated to_:** Prosopopeia**, for staying, cheering, and encouraging until the end. You're forever a darling to me.

**Special Note:** The final chapter is (finally) here. Check the incoming epilogue and one-shot sequel out for more happy stuff. And I'm sorry that it had taken nineteen chapters (HOH included) and so many months to schem---I mean, get Conrad and Yuuri together. Err… Anyway, you can still throw rotten fruits to my direction if it'd make you feel better.

Standard disclaimers apply.

XXX

_The night had started peacefully, just like every other night this week._

_Yuuri had dinner, took a bath, and did his nightly rituals before retreating to his room and falling asleep almost immediately._

_Then at midnight, the nightmare would start._

_Yuuri had never considered himself a light-sleeper. As long as there weren't too many noises around him, the light was dim enough, and there was no Wolfram to kick him out of his bed, he'd sleep like the dead until the sound of Conrad's gentle voice pleasantly would bring him back to his senses._

_That night, however, his subconscious-self had apparently sensed something wrong, and stirred him awake a few hours before the dawn. When he cracked his eyes open and saw no sun through the window, Yuuri rolled on his stomach with the full intention of going back to sleep… to later find that he couldn't. And the new position was rather suffocating._

_Rolling back to his backside with a frustrated groan, the king stubbornly kept his eyes closed. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he could hear a female voice screaming at him to open his eyes. He was also vaguely aware of the unusual smell he was inhaling at the moment. The smell was suspicious, but he was feeling too sleepy to even care. He knew he had to open his eyes, but he didn't want to move. _

_The voice was getting louder, and more persistent. He rolled on his side and pressed his pillow over his ears. The female voice never faltered._

_Groaning in frustration, the king promptly sat up with the very intention to tell the person off, only to shiver at the soft swish just a few inches behind his back._

_It was cold. It was metal. It was…_

_Yuuri stumbled down from his bed, briefly noticing the sudden malfunction of his legs before looking up and staring wide-eyed at the sword. It glinted blood-chillingly under the full moon's soft glow, embedded snugly on the pillow, where his head was supposed to be._

_Yuuri continued to stare, and couldn't even bring his throat to swallow._

_A man in black was still holding on to the sword, standing on the opposite side of his bed._

"_Who are you?"_

_The raven-haired boy wasn't sure which fact was more surprising; that he had managed to keep his voice steady, or that he had been able to talk at all._

_A sinister chuckle was all he got._

XXX

Yuuri woke up drenched in cold sweat; eyes wide open.

Yuuri took a moment to stare at the dark ceiling and suddenly remembering the night of the attack, the king promptly sat up, checked his left side, where the intruder had stood that night, and slipped a hand under his bed to make sure that Morgiff was still there. The sword had been complaining about being stored in a cramped and dark space, but that was the whole point of having it around. It had to be hidden so his amateurish strikes would be less predictable and more effectual in knocking the intruders down.

Taking one deep relieved breath when seeing that everything seemed fine, he leaned back on his pillow and wondered why the nightmare had returned again after vanishing for a few weeks. It had to be the day's stress building up, thus causing him to recall the horrifying experience and replay it in his dream (while Murata was on a holiday, no less).

A quick glance at his open window indicated that the sky was still dark, and it sounded like it was about to rain again. He felt a brief moment of disappointment that the clouds had obscured the supposedly brilliant field of stars. But he also knew that clouds had their uses.

For instance, clouds would eventually turn in to rain. And rain would then drive a couple to be stranded in a cave together. The stranded couple would then have no one else but each other, at least for the moment. It was the time when they could be the most honest to each other. It was the time when they could pretend that they were alone in the world, weightless of moral burden and free from chains of responsibility.

Yuuri clamped his eyes shut, taking one deep breath as his body started to tense up again.

I really have to stop thinking about this or my hair will have all fallen off by tomorrow. 

Trying to drift his mind somewhere else, Yuuri found himself thinking about the odd atmosphere he had been sensing around the castle earlier.

For starters, he couldn't find Murata and Wolffie anywhere, and nobody seemed to know how the two mysterious guests had disappeared. And the second was the abrupt arrival of the honored guests, more or less a month ahead of schedule. While he hadn't minded meeting the super-humans a little bit earlier than planned, Gwendal seemed rather upset. The man hadn't even allowed him to meet those guests until tomorrow, reasoning that they had still been exhausted after their long trip. As dense as he sometimes was, Yuuri could see that that was not the real reason. What he didn't understand was why Gunter had let the grumpy man 'exile' their important guests to a secluded mansion, miles away from the castle while several rooms had been exclusively prepared in the castle for the clan.

Weren't they supposed to treat the guests more politely? Weren't the people in the castle supposed to be cheerfully excited instead of plain tense? Shouldn't Anissina be more thrilled to create a good show and make an even stricter rehearsal schedule instead of calling it off? And the worst part of the cancelled rehearsal was that he hadn't seen Conrad at all since then.

Yuuri opened his eyes again, staring out at the cloudy sky through the window and sighed. It seemed that his hair would still fall off no matter what.

XXX

The day before, in the cave during the rain…

_The contact was brief, almost too brief to be considered a real kiss, for which Conrad was immensely thankful since the clumsy soft brush of lips alone had been enough to make him lose the feeling on both of his legs._

_A moment after Yuuri pulled back, Conrad found himself facing a situation he had never imagined having to deal with before. The silence. The uncertainty. The awkwardness. And Yuuri looked like he wasn't going to say anything until he could make sure of Conrad's feelings about the kiss._

_And even after knowing the big question, Conrad stayed still in silence, nursing his erratically pounding heart back to its normal and steady beat. Wolfram's face, his mother's sad face, and his promise to never repeat the same mistake again flashed before him, even when he closed his eyes. The time had finally come. Yuuri had finally made up his mind. And to think that the king had chosen him… it was almost like swallowing a bitter pill coated with sugar, or the reverse, depending on his decision as to which to taste first: the happy sugariness, or the dark bitterness._

_Stealing another glance at the king, who was still looking at anywhere but him, Conrad couldn't help averting his eyes back to the safety of the ground and blushed._

_The boy would surely be the death of him. He had now become even surer than before._

"_Conrad, I…" Yuuri suddenly started._

_Conrad stayed still, not knowing what to expect. He slowly turned to face the king, with an expression that betrayed none of his anxiety._

"_I didn't choose you to take the role because I felt uncomfortable performing the play with somebody else," Yuuri cleared his throat and turned his eyes away again at Conrad's visible flinch, "I mean, yes, I'll be uncomfortable, but… it's… just…"_

_Another long pause. _

_Conrad released the breath he had been holding, and did not feel as relieved as he should._

"_I don't want to be paired up with somebody else," Yuuri sounded a lot less shaky than before, "I'll only be Juliet if you're Romeo. I… I just want you to know that." _

_Then he stopped and seemed to be surveying Conrad's expression for an answer. But Conrad kept his eyes fixed on the ground; both elbows on each thigh, fingers interlaced together, and eyebrows furrowed in concentration._

_Yuuri took a deep breath and imitated the stance, waiting, lost in his own whirl of thoughts._

_Conrad's hand was warm, always so warm and soothing, that when Yuuri finally noticed, it had already been pressed against his intertwined fingers, stroking, feeling, comforting. Yuuri couldn't help but remember that time, when he had patiently sat next to the brunet's bed, holding that very same rough hand in the same way and hoping that his hands would have caused Conrad the same contentment as the unconscious man's always had done for him._

_Yuuri smiled, removed his left hand and gently replaced it with Conrad's. Looking at those interlaced fingers, Yuuri didn't think that any other hand could fit his so perfectly. It felt so right, just to sit there and relish the warmth Conrad's hand offered._

"…_Yuuri…"_

_Without realizing it, Yuuri tightened his grip on the warm hand, trying to extract as much encouragement as it could offer him._

"_Please… give me… time." _

_Conrad felt his heart sank as the grip in his hand loosened slightly._

"_I understand."_

_Then the king's soft hand retreated entirely._

XXX

Currently on duty and underground, Conrad knew that he was not in the position to tell the night's weather. But he knew that it was starting to rain.

He could smell the humid air when a guard had opened the door, and he could hear the roaring thunder from his headphones, which was connected to one of the three rooms they were inspecting.

So far he had heard nothing from the occupier of the room that he was in charge for, not even the sound of someone breathing, which made it even more suspicious. It was like the person in the room where the speaker was attached was deliberately waiting in silence until he could make sure that everyone else had been asleep.

Gunter had looked like he had been about to fall asleep, so Wolfram had taken over his headphones and seemed to be listening intensely for every little sound at the moment. Yozak had also taken over the last headphones from Gwendal, who had gone to inspect the rest of the troops around the mansion.

"Hey, hey," the redhead who had been unusually silent for a moment suddenly whispered.

Conrad really hated it when Yozak poked him with his sharp elbow, but decided that he would tolerate it only for the night since the man hadn't teased him for a while. In fact, Conrad had even started to worry about the redhead's health.

"Your little brother, he has changed, don't you think so?" Yozak gestured to Wolfram, who looked more and more like Gwendal with the furrowed brows and total concentration on his face. Conrad tried listening to his own device and heard nothing but the monotone clatter of rain and occasional thunder.

"Well, we all know that his personality has become significantly better after getting along with the king…" Yozak stole another glance at the blond to make sure that the conversation didn't go overheard, "But normally, although he has become a generally nice person, when it comes to Yuuri, he'll relapse to his old-self in no time. One wrong word about the king, and he'll blast."

Conrad nodded and looked at Wolfram again. If possible, the blond's expression looked even tenser than before. Conrad wondered if Wolfram had heard something important, but decided to wait until his little brother confirmed his suspicion.

"And this morning, when you and your beloved king skipped breakfast and went on a secret date together…"

Conrad stayed silent, ignoring Yozak's raised eyebrow at his lack of retort.

"Wolfram didn't say a thing and ate like nothing had happened," Yozak was now staring at his commander's impassive face deviously. To Yozak, the silence was Conrad-ish for: 'Oh yes, you're so true, but I'm not going to satisfy you by confirming it'.

"Everyone was wondering about it too, but nobody could actually walk up to him and ask." The redhead continued, still wearing his wolfish grin, "I mean, nobody but you."

The brunet looked like he was contemplating the idea, before finally shaking his head in the negative, "I can't do something like that."

"Because?"

"Because…" Conrad took a deep breath and paused. It was a very long pause.

"Because the king has finally confessed his undying love to you and you don't think you can ask something that would rub the fact in your beloved brother's face without hurting him?" Yozak helpfully supplied, which was both a wild guess and lucky revelation of truth that might have gone unnoticed had the redhead not been watching for every little change in his favorite commander's expression like an expert.

Another silence fell, in which Conrad was staring at him as if he had grown two horns, a satanic trademark tail and a pair of black bat wings. But it still counted as a silence, and we all knew what silence meant in Conrad-ish.

So Yozak continued calmly, "What was your answer?"

Conrad leaned his back against the wall, sighed and said nothing.

Yozak continued to search the answer in his commander's expression, until something he heard in his headphones froze him in his place.

Conrad quickly took off his headphones and leaned closer to him. "Yozak, what---"

The redhead held up a hand and gestured him to stay quiet while he looked around for the loudspeaker button.

Everybody immediately gathered around them. The button went on with a loud beep.

XXX

The man in the bed stiffened and reached for his glasses at the nightstand the moment he heard the firm knocking on his window. His other hand was clutching on the small golden knife he had hid under his pillow earlier.

Without waiting for a reply, a sturdy looking man with blond hair dressed in Geinzers' dark blue uniform, pushed the window open and climbed in.

The man with glasses sighed in relief as he slowly released his tight grip on the knife.

"Don't scare me like that," he scolded half-heartedly, "And what are you doing here?"

"Someone's reckless." The man in uniform hissed irately, disregarding the wet trails he left as he stomped to the direction of the bed, "I went to his room to discuss about our plan tomorrow, and he was not there."

The man with glasses let out a pained moan before resting his head on the pillow again; relishing the brief comfort it gave his suddenly aching head.

"…I knew it. We shouldn't have let him come along… We shouldn't have listened to my father… This is all a big mistake…" He ran a hand through his long russet locks, making his already disheveled hair look even messier than before.

"It's kind of too late for that, so now, we have to do something to stop him." The blond cut in firmly, "I'll sneak in to the castle right now and drag him back."

"What?!" His comrade abruptly sat up and gasped, "That's not possible! Can't you see the number of guards they're placing around the palace? You'll never make it!"

"There's no other way. If he gets caught, it would have blown our cover too. And he also had to bring our special troops with him. Without them, there's no way we could break the castle's guard and launch tomorrow's plan." The blond replied gruffly as he walked towards the large suitcase on the floor and pulled a dark cloak out, "Just wait here. I'll be back as soon as I can."

"No! No! No!" The brunet quickly jumped out his bed, gathered his scattered clothing articles and hastily put them on, "I'm coming with you. You could use some help."

The blond, who had now concealed his uniform with the dark cloak, only stood there and glared in disapproval.

"You're staying here," his voice brooked no argument.

"Are you saying that I'll just get in your way?"

"Exactly."

"But I---mmmpppfff!!!!"

With a hand firmly clamped on his mouth, and a threatening glare directed his way, the man with glasses finally relented and closed his mouth, grudgingly.

"I'm still coming with you no matter what," he quickly remarked right after the hand was removed. The blond looked like he wanted to put his hand back on, but opened his mouth instead to retort.

"I told you to stay out of this, it's---"

"I'm afraid that both of you have to stay here."

Both men froze, as the door was suddenly slammed open, and two dozens of soldiers marched inside, concurrently circling the two men while pointing their sword at their direction, daring any of them to move.

The sturdy man raised his sword and looked ready to make their way through at all cost, but the smaller brunet beside him placed a hand on his shoulder and shook his head. The blond could only heave a defeated sigh and lowered his sword again. With this failure, a death sentence was the only thing that was waiting for them at home so there was really no point of escaping, he knew. It was the fact that they were going to give up without showing some resistance that would have wounded his pride as a warrior the most.

"Now," Gwendal stepped inside the room, followed by Wolfram who seemed to be acting as his special personal bodyguard, "Carefully put your weapons down on the floor, hold up your hands and step forward. We'll have a long and thorough conversation about 'tomorrow's plan' tonight."

XXX

Yuuri shivered as he watched the man in black calmly pulled his sword out of the thoroughly abused pillow, before slowly making his way to the astounded king across the floor.   
Yuuri could hear his internal alarm setting off and ringing almost deafeningly in his ears. For a moment he wondered how an alarm he only imagined in his mind could sound like a blaring rock concert, but quickly dismissed the silly idea as the assassin knelt in front of him and revealed his face… or actually, the creepy wooden mask he was wearing. 

_Yuuri kept staring at the odd-looking mask until his eyes caught something the man was holding out to him._

_In the dimness of the night, with a little help from the full moon, the object only looked like a silhouette of two small bowls stacked oppositely against each other. And he could also make out thin smoke coming from the object, which was presumably the source of the strange smell he had been noticing much earlier._

_When the man took a small step closer, Yuuri instinctively tried to move away, only to find that his limbs were all powerless. A small gasp escaped his mouth as he slumped on his tense back; both elbows that had been supporting his upper body earlier were no longer functioning. The fact that he could still scream for help was probably the only comfort he could attain in the very uncomfortable situation._

_Only that the sword was still hovering menacingly over him, and he still had no idea what this man wanted by making him inhale the paralyzing incense._

"…_What… do you want?" He choked out and realized in dread that the incense was also slowly depriving him of his voice. And the capacity of his brain. He could feel his consciousness slip away, little by little._

"_Pity," came the muffled voice of the assassin. Yuuri could somehow hear his smirk in it. "I'd love to hear you scream. But it has to end like this."_

_Yuuri supposed that it was intended to be the moment of terror in his life. But he felt nothing but the weighing sleepiness, as it drifted down and overtook his remaining consciousness._

_When he woke up again in the morning (or afternoon), his whole body felt numb, his carpet was brand new and the smell of air freshener was very strong in the air. People wandered in and out to keep him company or at least ask about his condition, but Conrad never came until the next morning._

XXX

Even after a few weeks, the special guards still looked creepy. Even after convincing himself that they were surely normal nice guys behind the gas masks that were supposed to protect them from any gases, Yuuri still found it extremely unnerving to look at them in the face---mask. Feeling slightly guilty for the unreasonable fear, he started talking, only to fill the silence during their short trip to Conrad's office, where he wasn't even sure Conrad currently was.

"Where did you work at before guarding my room?" He tried to keep his smile wide and sincere, which was easier said than done when having a conversation with someone whose expression was invisible.

"We have always worked to protect you." Replied one of the guards, the slightly shorter one. He would have sounded a lot friendlier without the mask that muffled his voice, "wherever we are."

The other guard approved with a nod, "We were extracted from our original army to become your personal bodyguards. Rest assured, Your Majesty. Sir Gwendal has especially picked us for a reason."

Yuuri found it easier to keep his smile at their reassuring words. Just as he had thought, they were actually pretty nice once he had been able to ignore the creepy masks.

"Yes, I trust both of you are the best people Gwendal has…" The king paused awkwardly as he spotted a skull tattoo on one of the guards' hand. Dear God, what could all tattooed people be thinking about when they decided to do something like _that_ to a part of their body anyway? He had heard from a classmate that it also hurt a lot when done for permanent effect. Although some girls in his class commented about how cool it looked on a guy, Yuuri still couldn't imagine himself getting one, especially after imagining how his mother would have reacted…

"Your Majesty?" the guard repeated, moving his hand away from the king's scrutinizing eyes. "Are you feeling okay?"

"Ah… umm… oh, well… yes. I guess." Yuuri replied, smiling sheepishly, "Anyway, I'm sorry for making you leave your original squad. It must be dull to just stand in front of my room without anything to do."

The shorter guard shook his head dismissively, "I wouldn't consider standing in front of your room and assuring its safety a simple and boring job. We need to be alert even at the most impossible moment."

The slightly taller guard, the tattooed one, turned his head to his partner and nodded again, "Besides, it's probably best to leave the job to more experienced soldiers than common guards. We have heard what happened to the previous guards… I mean…"

Yuuri remained silent and increased his pace to be slightly ahead. So far everyone had been considerate enough not to bring up the topic in front of him, but apparently most of the soldiers, especially the battle-hardened ones, weren't as considerate as Conrad was. Yuuri knew that he couldn't avoid it forever, but every time he heard about the poor guards and the mourning families they had left behind, the choking feel of guilt in his throat was almost unbearable. He had, somehow, survived, and they hadn't. They had died protecting him.

A few days after visiting that night's victims' families, Conrad had seen him mourning in his room and told him to slowly get used to the occurrence, due to his position and responsibility. When Conrad had (only out of frustration, he hoped) brought up the fact that he too, wouldn't hesitate to forfeit his life for the king if necessary, Yuuri had ended up vomiting his lunch. Conrad had looked at him with such sad eyes and hadn't showed up for the rest of the day. Seeing such a vulnerable expression, fleeting as it might have been, it had probably been the first time Yuuri had seriously considered confessing his love to the infamous warrior.

The king sighed deeply, a rare frown visible on his thoughtful features. At least 'it' had been done. And now all he could, and had to do was to wait. Conrad needed time, possibly more than he did, considering the older man's careful nature and excessive selflessness. It had been pure luck that Conrad hadn't answered a straight 'no' for his little brother's sake. It also greatly encouraged Yuuri, to think that the other man's feelings were strong enough to make him forsake his 'older brother' title and for once think about his own happiness instead of others.

_Just a little more…_ Yuuri took a deep breath, _just a little more time, and Conrad will…_

A loud thud, a suppressed groan of pain.

Yuuri felt his entire body go limp as the familiar smell of incense filled the air around him, once again.

He barely registered the blurred sight of the door to Conrad's office as somebody grabbed his shoulder, pushed the door open and roughly shoved him inside.

As he felt a strong hand pressing his face to the wall while the other was firmly holding both of his arms on his back, Yuuri mentally groaned.

Déja-vu.

He should have trusted his dream a bit more, no matter how bad it was.

Conrad surely wouldn't come to visit his office in the middle of the night, and from what he had observed, there were only a few of guards in the area, but at least this time he had Morgiff with him, although he still wasn't sure if it was going to make a big difference.

XXX

Yozak reentered the underground base to find his favorite commander still standing at the spot he had occupied earlier, either brooding or simply lost in thought. That brought back memories, when the man had been smaller, cuter and less mature, and had done something like that a lot.

Carefully approaching the brunet, Yozak wondered if he should wait until the man was out of his trance, but then remembered that Conrad could stay like that for an inhumanly long time.

"Your brothers have taken care of the assassins. You are not going to join the interrogation?"

Conrad regarded him with a blank look before resting his head against the wall and closing his eyes, definitely set on ignoring the presence of his troublesome subordinate. Well, on the bright side, he hadn't put the headphone on, so maybe he was still willing to hear.

"You know…" Yozak started, even knowing that it wasn't a good start, "…Maybe it's time for you to be more honest to yourself. And stop holding back."

Silence. Conrad was still waiting to hear more. At least, Yozak hoped so.

"…Back then, even if your relationship with your little brother wasn't going smoothly, you were still looking out for him, weren't you? Despite what people said, you refused to ignore the annoying bratty teenager. You even threatened to barbeque me once for bad-mouthing him after he yelled at you to leave him alone."

Conrad broke out a soft chuckle, "…I don't remember saying something like that…"

The red-haired man sighed melodramatically and fluttered his eyelashes, "Well, you didn't exactly say that, but that's the impression I got. And you know, I feel quite betrayed for always not being your number one. It's either your brother or His Majesty… even after all the things we've done and shared together…"

Yozak expected being chastised for that, but Conrad only smiled in amusement and relaxed his stance. Perhaps it wasn't a really bad start for this important conversation, if Conrad could keep his good mood up.

"…Anyway, no matter what Wolfram has done to you… no matter how his words and rejection have hurt you… you still continue to care for him like a good big brother, don't you? Even now, you're still hesitating because you don't want to hurt him, aren't you? You think that the bond between the two of you is strong and unbreakable. Despite what he often says, you're still brothers, you have the same mother, and nobody could alter the fact."

Yozak absently ran his fingers on some random buttons on the machine in front of him. The first button was the green one; it connected the first speaker to the microphone they had installed in the first guest room. Yozak switched the button on, pausing only for a moment to hear only the infinite silence now that the occupier of the room had been arrested. He switched it back off.

"In the beginning, all I could see in your relationship was a sad one-sided brotherly love; you, who tried so hard to please a little brother who didn't even deserve your attention, and Wolfram who hated you despite everything you had done for him and constantly annoyed me with his bratty attitude." The second button, the red one; connected to the second guest room that was also empty at the moment. Yozak made a mental note to uninstall all the devices afterwards now that the problem had been solved.

"But after observing for a while, I think I have understood something even you might have missed."

Conrad stiffened at the last comment, nervously straightening up his stance against the wall as he looked at the redhead curiously.

"…And that is…"

"Mutuality."

Both men stared at each other for a moment, one with a satisfied smirk, the other with an annoyed frown.

"If you refer to Wolfram's true feelings about me, it's something that I have acknowledged."

"You mean you know that under that cold and harsh attitude he actually loves you about as much as you do him?"

"I'm not that blind."

Conrad felt decidedly wary when the smirk on his subordinate's face became more obvious instead of fading as he had hoped. And even worse, he identified the redhead's current expression as the hated 'I know something that you don't'.

"It's a good start to have acknowledged the fact. But to comprehend the great wisdom I have difficultly achieved with tears and sweat and blood, you're still missing something."

"You know, this conversation is going nowhere unless you quickly get to the point and tell me what I'm missing."

"Such impatience doesn't suit you at all, dear Commander," Yozak chided playfully, fully enjoying the rare moment when Conrad didn't bother to mask his emotions with his usual thick layers of courtesy, "A good teacher isn't supposed to just give away the answer to a problem to his student without making the pupil work for it, but I guess I could make an exception, since I can't allow you to waste more time."

Conrad sighed again and folded his arms, suppressing an urge to tap his foot Wolfram-ishly on the floor while Yozak was bidding his time.

"Thinking logically, what do you tend to do when you're fond of someone?"

The half-mazoku's frown deepened. Half-hoping that it wasn't one of Yozak unfunny ideas of a joke, he replied softly and honestly, "…You don't hurt them. Or at least regret it deeply after you do."

"Other than that?"

"…You… easily forgive them for their mistakes?"

"Go on."

Conrad looked like he was thinking really hard for an appropriate answer that Yozak could hardly contain his laughter. Several stifled giggles escaped, but hopefully went unnoticed.

"…You… do things for them?"

"And you'll also do it for the people you love?"

"Yes."

"Wolfram included?"

"Of course."

"Your mother loves you too, doesn't she?"

"…Yes, I believe so." The brunet finally answered, after taking one large deep breath and counting to ten in his mind, Yozak presumed.

"She does things for you then."

"She does."

"Your older brother loves you too?"

Conrad placed a hand on his sword, only to keep himself calm, Yozak hoped. As much as he loved and would also do things for his best friend, he still wished to walk out of this problem with his important bits still attached to his body, thank you.

"…Yes, he does."

"He does things for you also."

"_Yes_, he does."

"Everyone who loves you would do the same thing, I suppose?"

Conrad turned his eyes away and tried not to let the other man know of whom in particular he was thinking about at the moment. "Of course, they would."

"What makes you think that Wolfram wouldn't then?"

"What do you…" Conrad choked on his own incoming words, coughing a bit before looking back down at the mischievous red eyes in confusion.

"As you have admitted yourself, compassion, tolerance and sacrifice are common traits of love. They just come naturally once you've become fond of someone." Yozak busied his hands with several more colorful buttons, switching them on and off only for the beautiful dim lights they emitted, "You have them, your mother has them, your brothers have them… and also His Majesty, of course."

Conrad flinched then narrowed his eyes in annoyance. Talking about Yuuri, Wolfram and love at the same time was the very last thing he wanted to do at the moment.

"Just as I thought, your relationship with Wolfram is mutual. Despite how it seems on the surface, you both love and underestimate each other, in your own ways." Yozak continued obliviously, mentally dodging the imaginary daggers the other man was throwing at him.

"Wolfram hates the fact that your blood is tainted with human blood, and thinks that he's doing you a favor by continually liking you despite your 'imperfection', inwardly of course." Yozak absently noticed the last button on the row, and how dusty it looked compared to the others, "And you, are often hurt by his rejections and think that he will never overcome the fact that you're only half-mazoku. You think he'll keep hating humans, you think he'll never grow, you think he'll keep his immaturity forever, and he'll…"

"That's not true," Conrad cut, folding both arms to cover his stirring stomach, ignoring the fact that the single gesture could reveal to Yozak's experienced eyes how nervous he truly felt at the moment. "I just… have given up hope that our relationship will be back as it was before. I have accepted everything. And I'm just content with it as it is, right now. I dare not ask for more."

Yozak placed a curious finger on the dusty button, brushing it distractedly as he listened.

"Among the three of us, Wolfram has the most promising aptitude to become a good leader. It's just a pity that he often undervalues himself and listens to the people who want to bring him down." Conrad spoke quietly, glancing unfocusedly at the murky-colored floor, "What Wolfram needs the most to bring his potential out is someone who will confide in him and his abilities. It's the least that I can do for him, as the useless older brother that I am."

Silence fell among the two for a moment, in which Yozak seemed to try with difficulty to find the words of wisdom to conclude the conversation. After furrowing his brows in concentration to no avail, he finally sighed and settled on his usual style, straight and blatant.

"You know, I really think if you want to make him happy, you should trust him to take care of you too."

Conrad looked up and merely glanced at him, looking almost dazed. It rendered Yozak speechless for another moment only to stare at the rare vulnerable expression on his commander's face.

"A relationship is between two people. Unconditional as it is between you and your brother, in order to keep it healthy and happy, it still has to be mutual." Yozak settled on his seat and straightened up to look straight at the unfocused amber eyes, "Give and take. Don't feel inclined to keep giving without expecting something in return. Don't you ever think about what Wolfram feels? Do you think he'll be happy to see you throwing away your chance to be happy for his sake? And hurting the king he loves in the process? You said you know he loves you too."

Conrad remained quiet, still looking distracted, but Yozak was sure that he had been listening.

"I'm sure it had been a real moment of horror when you first realized you had fallen in love with your brother's fiancé, who also happened to be the king you were supposed to protect with everything you had. I also understand how much you want to just kill the feeling or let it wither. But now that it has become reciprocal, do you think you're still able to ignore it?"

Sensing no reply, Yozak continued a tad too zealously, "So in short, or maybe not so short; stop being so stubborn and just accept everything the way it is, because you'll only hurt more people by avoiding it. Do you get it? The boy _loves_ you and he has even gathered enough courage to confess. You're supposed to be whooping in joy at this moment; not mourning over a sin you didn't even commit! Go see the boy and say 'yes' now. Or do you want this to end like your relationship with Julia?"

Conrad flinched at the last statement, a mix of expressions started to refill his previously vacant face, "Yuuri isn't Julia."

"I never said he was. And I really hope that you don't see him as her replacement." Yozak narrowed his eyes accusingly, "You don't, do you?"

"Yuuri is Yuuri," Conrad's annoyed frown faltered as he rested his eyes back on the floor, "I don't see the past when I look at him. Not with the way he brightens everyone's life around him. He's the future, the one who'll lead us to our bright future. Everything suddenly turns to the better after he arrived here…"

"Which gives you more reason not to disappoint him."

Conrad stayed silent, eyebrows furrowed in concentration while Yozak was steadily losing his worn patience.

"Look," the redhead snapped, "standing here contemplating possibility after possibility isn't going to solve anything. Why do you always have to think every little thing over, wasting so much time over the preparations instead of the real celebration anyway? Try to do something and see if it works; not think about something and measure its percentage of success, damn it!"

"Shut up! Stop trying to tell me what to do!" Conrad retorted in similar exasperation, "I'm not _you_!"

"Why should you be _me_ to do the right thing?!"

"It's not the right thing; it's reckless!"

"It's not reckless, it's being simple!"

"It's not that simple!"

"But it _is_! You just never bother to simplify it because you're stubborn and a masochist loser! Once you stop looking for an excuse to put yourself in a tragic heroine position, you'll realize how simple it actually is, damn it!"

"H—Heroine?" Conrad choked and started coughing again rather intensely. Obviously, nobody had ever bothered to use the analogy on him before.

Yozak watched in fascination as his commander kept coughing like he had just inhaled a gush of smoke. The tension from their intense argument before just _broke_ inside of his mind, replaced by jovial amusement and great satisfaction for being able to provoke such a reaction from his usually composed commander. Had he known earlier how much the quote he had picked up from one of Anissina's novels could affect the man; he would have used it sooner.

"You---" Conrad started, coughing a bit more as he tried to regulate his breaths.

Yozak, who sighed as he waited for the long session of chastisement he was sure to follow up, was both shocked and delighted when the sequence of coughs faded and turned in to suppressed chuckles. When he looked up to confirm it, Conrad was already clutching his stomach for a different reason altogether. His usually pale face was also turning slightly red as cute little noises escaped his mouth during his unsuccessful attempt to keep quiet. It was truly a sight to admire, and Yozak had never seen such powerful mirth in his childhood friend's eyes since… well… that one time when he had sneaked in to the man's room, dressed up in a red nightgown and lay on the bed in his most (disturbingly) seductive pose. Of course, Conrad had had to be such an ungrateful jerk and had replaced all the locks the morning after, but it still didn't change the fact that the half-mazoku had laughed until his stomach hurt at the sight.

"Heroine…" Conrad muttered softly as he straightened up and finally stopped laughing, still a bit breathless, "I guess I deserved it… Didn't I?"

Yozak entirely blamed it to a romantic scene in the same novel that he had gone as far as to compare Conrad's smile with the glowing autumn sunrise.

"Hell yeah, you do. Master Yozak always knows best."

"Yes… you're right. Not all the time, though." As always, Conrad was quick when reverting back to his 'no-nonsense Commander' persona, much to the redhead's disappointment. Well, at least the amused smile still remained, and it somehow suited the half-mazoku's reserved personality better. "Thank you. I think I have been… enlightened, as you have."

Yozak 'hmm'ed and nodded sagely, obviously enjoying his role as the 'enlightener' a bit too much. "So are you riding back to the castle, straight to the boy's room, and telling him what he wants to hear now?"

"His Majesty needs his nightly rest," was Conrad's immediate answer.

"Like he can rest before hearing your answer."

The half-mazoku seemed to contemplate the possibility for a moment, before sighing to himself and shaking his head again, "…No. I still need time to prepare. Tomorrow morning, for sure."

XXX

On the other side of the door, Wolfram released the breath he had been holding and smiled before leaving quietly, savoring the liberating feeling of freedom in each of his step.

XXX

Yozak shrugged and turned his attention back to the dusty button, "If you think so. My guidance ends here. It's time for the pupil to leave his teacher's side and go see the world for himself."

Conrad let out another amused chuckle, remembering Gunter's exact words when they had parted as teacher and student many years before.

"Well… I thank you for your… guidance." Yozak only needed to look at him and knew that it was Conrad's expression every time he wanted to apologize for something. Only this time, it was something he couldn't understand about.

"And once again… I'm sorry for losing control and hitting you before… I was…"

"Wait a minute,"

Conrad looked down to the other man's puzzled face.

"You keep apologizing for this… particular incident…" The redhead asked carefully, "I've been wanting to ask… when did you hit me anyway?"

Conrad only stared at his subordinate for a moment, expertly appraising the genuinely confused face for any signs of dishonesty. He frowned after finding none.

"You mean… you don't remember?"

XXX

By the time Yuuri was feeling relatively coherent again, he had been seated and bound on Conrad's office chair. If he had to find one positive thing about his current situation, it had to be the faint but still intoxicating scent of Conrad slightly overpowering the incense for a moment.

His assailant, still disguised as one of the special guards, was now standing before him, looking as unreadable as the one at the night of the incident. While the situation felt familiar, he could somehow sense agitation his previous attacker hadn't had in the dark figure. It almost felt like this person still had feelings… and he still had a bigger chance of survival.

"You… are that man's most precious person, aren't you?" The previously cheerful voice was now trembling, and sounded so heartbreakingly soft, "…Because of you… that person has…"

Yuuri's heart skipped a beat when the assassin suddenly slammed the steel sheath of his sword on to the wooden desk, which cracked apart after the loud and powerful crash. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Yuuri wondered if the crumpled and scattered papers on the floor meant that Conrad had been relieved from the tedious signing documents-job for the rest of the week. For that reason alone, he'd forgive the violent assassin for destroying Conrad's desk.

"…Such a king… Tonight will be the end of your reign, yet you're facing it so calmly…" The man in black seemed to have noticed the king's sudden fixation towards the papers around their feet. "You're a good king. I wish I didn't have to kill you. I wish _he_ hadn't been sent here to kill you. I know it's not your fault, but this has to end this way. I'm sorry."

Yuuri raised an eyebrow at the apology. He didn't often come across someone who both wanted to kill him and felt sorry for it. There was no mistake; this assassin was nothing like the previous one. This one still had _heart_. Which meant that he might be able to escape… with some creative improvisations. Maybe. He didn't really want to die before hearing Conrad's answer, after all.

"Hey, mister assassin… ano…" Yuuri felt the need to raise his hand the way he would do when interrupting a class, but then remembered that neither of his hands was accessible to use.

The assassin turned to him, still expressionless with the gas mask on him. Yuuri noticed with delight that now that his body had once experienced the incense, it didn't affect him as much as it had before.

"I wonder… you have been talking about 'this person', 'he', 'precious one'… but I don't really get the whole story here. You see... I haven't been a bright student, so… could you please explain it to me before you kill me?"

With the lame excuse, Yuuri felt _really_ lucky to have the assassin even considering the option. Why would people want to talk, lecture and reminisce before killing someone anyway? It was only something that happened in lame, old movies his mother happened to watch all the time.

_Brilliant, Yuuri,_ he cringed inwardly, _now he'll be even more suspicious…_

"…I understand. I'll tell you."

_...and my chance of survival is getting---WHAT?_

Ignoring the obvious shock on the king's face, the assassin settled himself comfortably on the wreck of the previously whole desk and took a deep breath, before starting his tale.

"I was about twelve years old when I met him for the first time… it was seventy years ago…"

While it was good to stay alive just a little longer, Yuuri suppressed a yawn.

XXX

"You don't remember?"

Yozak shook his head, still looking confused. "Hell, I might be a little forgetful sometimes, but something like that can't just be forgotten. So either something is wrong with my head, or yours."

Conrad leaned back against the wall and tried to recall the incident. No, it couldn't be a dream. He could still remember it so vividly, the conversation they had had at the time… Yozak's bruises… the scratch on his chin… Yozak's comment on his boots… Yes. The boots.

"…Yozak… do you by any chance know who gave me these boots?"

Yozak looked down at the after mentioned boots and frowned pensively, "Let me guess… His Majesty?"

Conrad tensed. So, if it hadn't been _this_ Yozak he had argued with… who could it have been?

For some reason, all he could think of was… a damn pink ballerina dress.

XXX

Half an hour through the midnight tale, all Yuuri's drowsy brain could pick up was the rather… affectionate childhood friendship between his current assailant and the previous one. Another half an hour passed, he found out how this sweet and shy guy, who had also happened to be the one who had pointed a sword to his face just several weeks before, had turned in to a heartless man after the death of his entire family in a fire accident. A quarter of hour passed, and he learned that this taleteller man had especially joined the assassin army only to bring his best friend back, and had failed numerous times to bring his friend's inner 'nice guy' out. During the next ten minutes, Yuuri's assailant ranted about how their current master, who was basically your ordinary nasty villain, had ordered his childhood sweetheart to invade Blood Pledge Castle to kill the demon king in the last mission, which had ended in his death.

Yuuri had known about the fact; perhaps since the very moment he had opened his eyes and had recognized the smell of air-freshener, that his room had become a rather dangerous battleground during his involuntary sleep. Faintly mixed with the thick scent of lemon was metallic blood. And the carpet was brand new. He should have known.

After hearing the number of lives lost that night, it had occurred to Yuuri that perhaps the assassin had deserved his death penalty. But now, sitting in front of someone who mourned over the loss of the cruel man's life, he found himself giving out as much sympathy as he had when he had personally gone out to meet and encourage each victim's family. A loss was a loss, and even the worst kind of person still had someone who cried at their burial. He even started wishing that he had been awake at the time to stop the killing.

It was when the king realized that he never did find out who his 'savior' was that night. Everyone had only nervously dodged him when he had come to them for detailed explanation, including Conrad. When the assassin told him that his best friend had been the best swordsman in their army, Yuuri started to feel nervous. Someone as powerful and heartless as the man couldn't have possibly been taken down easily, and as far as Yuuri knew, there were only a few men in the castle who could have been strong enough to defeat such a talented swordsman. Conrad was one of them. But surely… surely… it wasn't him? Yuuri just needed to make sure.

"…Umm… about the killer of your best friend…" The king looked up warily, "Maybe you know… his name or something?"

"I don't think I'll be able to forget the name even if I want to as I live." The assassin's tone sounded strained, "It's Weller. Conrad Weller. The one I'm going to bestow with eternal plight as I kill you. I can't think of a better way to punish him for what he has done."

The assassin kept talking about his anger, how he was going to take his revenge and how his best friend was going to be pleased with him, but Yuuri was no longer listening. It felt wrong, _so_ wrong to have blamed Conrad for killing to protect him. Of course Conrad had killed people; probably more than the half-mazoku's gentle looks could ever imply. Yuuri understood---or at least had tried to; it was rather easy to delude himself in to believing what he wanted to believe when all the man showed him were sweet smiles and a thoughtful attitude. Conrad had only done what he had needed to do to keep his promise; the very first promise the man had made only a moment after they had met.

Despite his situation, Yuuri smiled fondly at the memory. Conrad had undoubtedly been _his_ knight in shining armor, and the man had always been there for him. The king was only snapped out of his daydream when he felt the piercing coldness of the sword against his neck. He didn't even notice that his involuntary jolt had also drawn a little blood. The sting of pain had gone unnoticed as he focused both dark eyes on the expressionless gas mask and through the two eyeholes. Somehow, like this, he felt like he could understand the man's grief better, like there was no mask between them to hide it.

"Was it a funny story? You seem to be enjoying yourself," the assassin remarked coldly as he pressed the sword closer, drawing another trickle of blood from the open cut on the raven-haired king's pale neck, "Did you like the story? I hope you did, since it would be the last story you'd ever hear. It should have been special, shouldn't it?"

"It was special," Yuuri stated firmly, still holding his gaze steadily, "Whether it would be the last or not, I'll never forget it."

"Sweet-talking me won't save your life."

"I know."

"What were you smiling about?"

Yuuri stayed silent, looking thoughtful for a moment.

"A fond memory, which is mine alone." He finally replied, a tad possessively.

The assassin was taken aback by the answer, if the slight shift of his blade had been an indication.

"…You're not going to try and escape? You look quite content where you are."

"Trust me, I'm all but content sitting here like this, and I assure you I'll try to escape the first chance I get." Yuuri shrugged and mumbled softly, mostly to himself, "…I can't die here… not before I hear his answer…"

Another moment of awkward silence passed, in which the assassin only kept pressing the edge of his sword against his prey's neck without actually making the killing. Yuuri had only looked at him with a frown, before deciding that the staredown match had become rather tiring for his sleep-deprived eyes to carry on.

"Why won't you kill me? Don't you want to get this over with quick before somebody comes?" The king asked, as cautiously as he could. Despite his statement, he still pretty much hoped to live.

"Don't get the wrong idea. I'm not hesitating at all about ending your life tonight." The assassin sounded like he meant the total opposite, but Yuuri wisely decided not to point it out. "I'm just thinking that your quick death won't probably be enough to avenge my best friend. There has to be something I can do to make it more… painful. And anyway, I assure you that nobody _would_ come. So scream as loud as you want."

Yuuri cringed at the suggestion of a painful death and suddenly wished that incense had actually taken a stronger effect on him.

It was when the assassin put his sword away Yuuri started to feel the rather painful sting of the open cut on his neck (the damn paralyzing incense definitely did not work). The idea of a slow and painful death sounded Really _Bad_. He'd rather not experience _that_; especially not this young, thank you very much.

Then suddenly his eyes fell on Morgiff, which had somehow been hurled on the floor, just a few feet near him. Maybe if he could distract the assassin just for a moment, he'd be able to reach it with his left foot, then…

The masked man followed his rather intense stare and spotted the unusually quiet sword. "So this is the infamous demon sword?"

Yuuri inwardly groaned. There went his only chance of survival.

"Looks like a nice sword," the assassin commented lightly as he reached down to obtain it.

…Or maybe he still had a chance. Morgiff usually didn't let anybody else but the demon king to touch it, and people didn't normally expect their swords to bite their hand down. This could definitely work. Morgiff would distract the assassin for long enough for him to make his escape. He just needed to work on the bindings around his hands and feet or maybe he could just drag the chair with him…

"It is a nice sword," the assassin picked the sword up and appraised it for a moment, surprisingly, without losing any of his fingers, "A tad weird, but still nice. This is one of the best swords I've ever seen."

Yuuri glared at the still unresponsive sword. Of all the moments, why did it have to choose **now** to stay quiet and sit tight like a good sword?

"Do you mind if I try to swing it?" The assassin suddenly turned to him, catching the king off-guard with the odd request for a moment. Well, not every castle intruder went around and asked for permission to touch a sword from his hostage.

"Go ahead," Yuuri replied without thinking. Anything that could buy him more time until help (hopefully) arrived would be acceptable. Even if he didn't want to, it wasn't like he could do something to prevent the trespasser from doing so, after all.

The tall man swung Morgiff once, twice, with a perfect swordsmanship stance, making Yuuri feel even more unenthusiastic about his chance of survival. He had been wondering when the other guards would find the (hopefully just) fainted guard in front of the door, but he guessed, even _if_ they found the body, this talented swordsman was going to give them a hard time. Worst case, more killings would occur, and Yuuri absolutely refused to witness or be a part of the butchery while not being able to do a thing to stop it. While a scene like that was potential for bringing the all-powerful Maou out of him, which hadn't occurred for quite a while now, Yuuri still wanted to keep bloodshed to the minimum.

"…A good sword…" the masked assassin suddenly whispered while clutching on the sword tightly, very quietly that it almost went unnoticed, "…it really is… a good sword… you're taking very good care of it… it's…"

Sensing that he was witnessing a rare vulnerable moment, Yuuri decided that the assassin was probably distracted enough to not notice his struggles to release himself from the bindings. Until the cold and piercing edge of a sword, which was now Morgiff, was once again pressed again the tender skin of his neck. Yuuri winced. The blood from the previous cut hadn't even stopped trickling yet.

"…Why… why are you always leaving me behind?" The assassin whispered softly, and miserably. Yuuri was secretly glad that he didn't have to have direct contact with the man's eyes. It'd be just too odd to feel sympathy towards someone who was about to reward him with a slow and painful death.

"I always did my best… so I wouldn't get left too far behind you… but you… never… cared… you never… looked behind your back… to look for me…"

Yuuri stared at the assassin in front of him in puzzlement. He hadn't known the man in black in front of him for more than two hours yet he could easily see that the hired assassin wasn't acting like himself. It was almost like he was talking to someone else. But there were only the two of them in the room… right?

"I was always content, just by being able to stay by your side and watch your back… but you… why did you insist to go on the mission _alone_? And why did you have to yell like that to me? You know I was not doubting your abilities; I just wanted to make sure that you'd come back home in one piece, damn it!"

Yuuri shivered. Now it was getting creepy. This man was definitely talking to his dead friend!

"A… Look, I know you miss your friend a lot, but…"

"SHUT UP!"

Yuuri jolted, still staring up at the dark eyeholes nervously.

"The last time I listened to you, you ended up DEAD! I won't trust you anymore! I'm not listening to you anymore! You **don't** always know the best! I should have known!"

If a bloodthirsty and strong assassin had been scary, a bloodthirsty, strong, hysterical, more or less not right in the head, talking to the dead assassin had proved to surpass everything else in the level of eeriness. Yuuri could feel a little half of his soul departing already when the man raised Morgiff high and all too ready to chop his dear anatomies apart.

"I'm so sorry for this… but rest assured, I'll see you again… soon."

XXX

A loud clash of swords echoed in the mostly empty basement. The two present observers could only stare at the speaker in disbelief, before looking at each other inquiringly. None of them actually knew what was going on at the time.

Then it came, a loud, yet incoherent yell, and more crashing sounds.

Recovering from his shock, Conrad rose, "…Which room is it?"

"I don't remember," Yozak turned to the pink button, now glowing smugly in the darkness, "There're only three rooms we put the surveillance microphones at in this mansion. This one…"

"_STOP IT!"_

Both Yozak and Conrad jumped at the all too familiar voice, then shivered as the noises of heavy struggles continued. As much as they could comprehend, someone was attacking the king, who was still shouting at whoever it was to stop.

_Something is happening to Yuuri… it's just like that night only that I won't make it this time if I don't hurry dear Shin MaouIwon'tmakeitTHIStimeI'vefailedtoprotecthimandIhaven'teventoldhim----_

"WHICH ROOM?!" Conrad repeated stridently, making Yozak wince with the intensity.

"It's… just… wait for a moment…"

"_**WHICH**_"

"You---damn, wait for moment, damn it, I'm just starting to remember here!" The redhead snapped back while encouraging his brain to keep going, flipping through memory after memory… until…

"…Your office…" Yozak whispered out, relieved that he had actually been able to remember it under the pressure, "…I put this one in your office. Years and years ago…"

When he looked up again, he couldn't say he was surprised to have been greeted by the sight of the empty space where his Commander had been standing at just a moment before.

XXX

Negotiating just wouldn't do, Yuuri should have known. But there was actually little else he could do about his current situation. Morgiff had actually sided with him, which was good news, but the gemstone-less sword had also seemed to have exhausted the last drop of its energy preventing the assassin from slashing him in to little bits and relieving him from his bounds. Morgiff was no more than an ordinary sword lying on the floor, and now it was all up to him, his half-paralyzed body and his hesitant, amateurish strikes which had an almost zero chance of hitting the right target.

Yuuri dared not think about his chance of survival again.

"…W---I said, wait for a moment! Think about it for a moment!" Yuuri gasped out as he dodged another close call and thanked Shin Maou for also siding with him that he had been able to stay alive for more than five minutes against this psychotic, talking-to-the-dead killer. As the result, though, Conrad's previously orderly office had been reverted in to utter wreckage. On the bright side, Conrad would definitely be desk-jobless for the rest of the week. On the bleaker side of things… well… actually everything looked kind of dark at this moment. He had lost count of how many times he had bumped and tripped over things during the chase.

"Let's---talk this---over!" Yuuri said as he swayed and ducked behind the fallen cabinet, glancing guiltily at Conrad's ripped accounting book on the floor next to his feet. It would have to be a real pain to rewrite it later.

A slash, the cabinet was sliced apart like tofu under his mother's knife. Yuuri breathed hard and forced his feet to keep moving, _anywhere_.

"I know---your friend---" Yuuri wondered how many times he had circled the room, and yet hadn't been able to find the exit door he had been longing for, "---means---the world---to you! But---"

Yuuri threw himself against the wall, moving both arms aimlessly on the wall, looking for the door in the overwhelming darkness. He had long lost his sense of direction ever since Morgiff's sudden burst of energy had sent both him and his assailant sprawled across of each other on the floor.

"---You---mustn't---do something like this! He won't---appreciate it---if---"

"Wrong. He will." Replied the calm, muffled voice. Then Yuuri felt something cold, swishing just above his head. Some strands of dark hair fell on his nose. He shivered and quickly crawled down while feeling the wall with both of his hands searching for the door.

"Obviously you don't know him well enough, do you?"

Yuuri tried to regulate his breaths as he rested his back against the somewhat comforting coldness of the wall. He couldn't sense the man moving, and he supposed he could take the break, for both of his legs were trembling quite pathetically now.

"I can't think of anything else that would make him more proud of me than the fact that my first and last killing would be dedicated to him. He always thought I was not strong enough to commit one."

Yuuri knew that he was supposed to feel really worried that the man was all set on murdering him at the moment, but he couldn't also help feeling relieved that Conrad wouldn't be the next target. And the assassin-to-be had also accidentally revealed to him that it would be his first killing. Turned out that the man was no less amateurish than him, after all. He still had no idea how, but hopefully he could use this important bit of information, and perhaps also the man's unhealthy obsession towards this close friend of his for escape. Yuuri bet that one of the reasons he had been chosen as the target was because the man was jealous for not being able to be there when his childhood sweetheart had passed away…

Yuuri's eyes twinkled in the darkness. There it was… another 'weapon' he could use.

The raven-haired boy swallowed, once, twice, then he found himself opening his mouth and putting his life on his next sentence.

"No, _you_ don't know."

Yuuri gasped loudly as a hand closed dangerously against his still sore throat and _pressed_, pushing him up on his slightly shaking feet against the wall. For a moment, the pain caused by the open and aggravated cuts on his neck was so unbearable that he couldn't think of anything else, but soon the pain numbed with time. He would have definitely freaked out to see how his blood had painted a thin, red line on his assailant's hand, though.

"What do I _not_ know about my _own_ best friend?" The tone of the man's question was firm and deep, implying everything hell could offer if it wasn't answered properly. "Are you saying that you know him better than _me_?"

"Not---really---" Yuuri coughed out, struggling to keep fresh air sufficiently stocked in his system to keep his brain working, "His last words---you didn't hear it, did you?"

Then the assassin suddenly dropped him on his back. Yuuri moaned loudly as he rubbed a rather painful bump his abrupt fall had caused on his scalp. On the bright side, Yuuri didn't think that the incense would be strong enough to knock him unconscious now that both stinging aches on both his head and his neck had joined hands to keep him awake.

"Last… words…" The assassin muttered dazedly, "…I want to hear… I want to hear it… what did he say?"

Yuuri took a deep breath and leaned against the wall, willing his body to relax for a moment. It wouldn't do to get nervous and reveal his 'white lie'.

"He… kept calling your name…" Yuuri ran his right hand, feeling the wall under his shaking fingertips again. The door had to be somewhere around the spot, he had seen the glimpse of it just a moment before, when the clouds had left the moon unblocked for a while.

"Then he said… how much he cared about you…"

Yuuri's heart almost jumped in joy as he felt the rough surface of wood. He had found it! And now he only had to distract the intruder before running out for help. He had heard some guards passing by before. If he had the right timing, he might run into some of them. Why any of the guards hadn't yet to notice the unconscious guard's body outside the door never occurred to him.

"…Said that he regretted… how bad he had treated you…"

Rising slowly on his feet, Yuuri's fingers fumbled for the doorknob.

"And he wished you happiness… and a better life…"

Pushing the knob open slowly, Yuuri prepared himself for another long run to safety, "…asked you to leave the assassin army and…"

The door was finally open. Yuuri could vaguely hear loud thumping noises from across the room as he turned around and pushed the door open. But before he could get too far away, he felt a strong hand roughly gripping his shoulder, before hurling him back inside the room viciously.

"Liar…"

Yuuri tried to get up and realized in horror that he couldn't feel his right arm, and his left foot shrieked in pain the moment it made contact with the floor. The king stumbled backwards and fell back against the wreckage that had previously been Conrad's desk.

"…Liar… Prepare to die…"

When Yuuri looked up, he could see the dark shadow looming closer to him before quickly squeezing both of his eyes back shut. That was it; the end of his _very_ short life. He would never see Conrad again… wouldn't hear his answer… He would never be able to transport back to his world to meet his family, his mother, his father, his brother, his friends, Murata, the other Murata, Wolfram, the other Wolfram, Gunter, Gwendal, Yozak, Anissina, Cheri, Gisela…

Yuuri shut his eyes tighter as he felt a gush of ­sweet-smelling wind on his face, followed by a loud thud and muffled curses. After a minute passed and he still felt pretty much alive, he reopened his eyes and saw… _pink_?

The lights were suddenly on, forcing Yuuri to close his eyes again and take some time to adjust to the sudden brightness. Then he could feel warm touch on his back and gentle familiar voice asking if he was all right. Yuuri nodded while scrubbing his eyes vigorously, trying to get them to recover as soon as possible so he could see what on earth was going on there.

The first thing he saw when he opened his eyes again was Murata's concerned face, and something _pink_ in the background. Dismissing the odd pink mass for a moment, he sat up and glared at the smiling fairy.

"Murata! Where have you been?! I looked for you all over the place! Where's Wolffie?"

"Right here, assessing _your_ mess." The blond fairy replied wryly from the top of the pink cotton mound as he scanned the utterly derelict room with a frown, "What have you done to this place anyway? Messing with wind magic? I told you to stick to doing what you're good at."

"I didn't do any---ow!" A painful sting on his foot reminded Yuuri why he had been sprawled helplessly there in the first place, "---Just---that man you've buried under the---Wait, is that _cotton candy_?"

"Yep, it is. A suitable magic for us, don't you think so?" Murata's eyes twinkled playfully, "And it tastes really good. Want to give it a try?"

"No, thanks." Now that he knew that the pink mound had a body buried under it, Yuuri didn't think he'd be able look at the candy the same way again. "And thanks for saving my life. When did you get here anyway?"

"Just a moment ago, and this time I'm thankful that my brother had messed the teleportation up again that we have ended up here instead of in our room as planned. And… oh, you're bleeding…" Murata winced as he examined the twin cuts on Yuuri's neck. The wound was starting to heal and the blood had stopped flowing, but the red hand mark on it made it look ten times worse than its actual condition. "We need to get you treated as soon as possible. Can you stand?"

Yuuri experimentally tried to step on his foot and gasped again in pain before shaking his head regretfully. He wasn't sure whether it was a good thing or not, but his previously numb arm had finally started to _hurt_.

Murata stood up and turned to a direction, which was not Wolffie's. "We have to carry him. Yozak-two, could you lend us a hand?"

Yuuri blinked at the name. Then he turned around to find the redhead standing with his usual smug stance near the window.

"Yo," 'Yozak-two' raised a hand to greet the still blinking king before rising on his feet to approach him, "nice to meet you."

Out of reflex, Yuuri followed the gesture and raised a hand too to answer the greeting, still staring at the smiling man unblinkingly, "You are…"

"Yozak-two, as your dear fairy had mentioned." The redhead who was either Yozak himself or his identical twin knelt down next to the king and scrutinized the king in return, "Man, those bruises look bad… you look pretty beaten up. My master will definitely yell at me for this…"

Yuuri blinked again in confusion at his last statement. "…Master?"

"Yes, my former master actually," 'Yozak-two' grinned playfully, "who I bet is running frantically to this place right now for you. And that's why I don't think it's wise for me to lay a hand on you yet. He might mistake me for your violator and----"

"YUURI!!!!"

As if on cue, the door was once again slammed open, revealing the man Yuuri had been aching to meet since a little while before, when he had realized that his death had been once more postponed.

"---kill me." 'Yozak-two' completed calmly before stepping away and let his 'master' dash forward to get to the dazed boy. Murata quickly gestured Wolffie to climb down and chanted a spell under his breath to dispel the cotton candy, leaving the assassin sprawled on his stomach on the floor, still unconscious (from sugar-overload, Yuuri suspected).

"Yuuri! How are you feeling?" Conrad placed a careful hand on Yuuri's back carefully before letting the boy lean on his chest, refraining hard not to give the king a possessive Gunter-ish hug while savoring the body warmth with infinite gratefulness. Thank Shin Maou… He had thought that he would have definitely been too late…

"Conrad…" Yuuri managed out feebly. Relief washed over him now that the long night had finally been over. And here he was, safe in his beloved's arms. _Now_ he could die happy.

"I'm okay… just…" The king looked down at his bruised body and swallowed, "…Nothing life-threatening… I guess."

Conrad frowned as he spotted the bloody hand mark on the boy's wounded neck. "This is bad. You need to be treated, _now_. Let's go back to your room."

"W---wait! No! Let me stay here a little longer!" Yuuri protested as he clung to the half-mazoku's shoulder, feeling perfectly justified to act spoiled just for that once. After all, he had just survived an unbelievably rough night. "Please… a little longer. I promise I'll be okay. Just stay. Here."

Maybe prettily sparkling miserable 'don't you love me enough to do as I say?' eyes were a part of the 'X' factor every Maou carried, since Conrad always found his determination crumble under the very same look from his mother.

"…I understand. We'll stay, a little longer."

Yuuri smiled as he felt Conrad relax and put his arms around him. If almost getting killed meant he'd be able to relish this comfortable warmth again, he'd fight assassins for his life _every_ night.

Both half-mazoku stayed in the position for a seemingly long moment, until a loud distracting cough broke Conrad's full undivided attention for his king's sweetly smiling face, his king's body warmth, his king's hand clutching on his uniform… and the other seemingly endless wonders the king's presence alone could bring in to his world.

It was when he suddenly noticed how cramped his usually vast office was… And was it really the second division's infamously authoritarian lieutenant who was sniffling on a frilly pastel-colored handkerchief over there?

After scanning the room for a while, Conrad stared in horror as he realized that he personally _knew_ almost half of the present 'observers', who were all refined dedicated warriors and were currently staring at him with glassy affectionate eyes. He totally took back what he had thought about new recruit's adoring sparkly eyes were always worse than the old ones; now that he was experiencing both at the same time, he knew that sparkling eyes _were_ unnerving; coming from a new recruit or not. Had those people followed him on his way back to the castle anyway? He couldn't remember anything but his blind dash towards this place.

Conrad cleared his throat, not knowing how and what to explain now that he had been caught with his arms full of the king, "…Danger has been averted… I think. Please leave this room quietly, and leave two special guards in front of the room for assisting me with the criminal later. Thank you."

XXX

After the still swooning soldiers and guards had left the room, Conrad belatedly took notice of the three other 'strangers' in the room. The first one was a teenager at around Yuuri's age, with somewhat unmatched pale blond hair and unnervingly knowing crimson eyes.

The second was the red-eyed Wolfram he had met before. Before, he had been too dazed to take a closer look, but now, he could easily see the differences between this person and his little brother. It didn't make him feel less amazed about their astonishing physical resemblance, though.

Lastly, he turned to the third person and frowned. He had run like he had never done before to reach the place as soon as possible but Yozak had actually managed to arrive earlier?

"Umm… Conrad…" Yuuri straightened his back. He wasn't sure how, but the pain did lessen a lot after Conrad had started to hold him. "Let me introduce you to my guests. They are the friends I mentioned to you before, Murata and Wolffie. You must have noticed Murata present during the rehearsal."

Conrad nodded. He had several times spotted the boy with pale blond hair around the stage before, but had never really given him any special attention. He had thought that the boy had been a soldier from Wolfram's squad.

"Nice you meet you, I'm Murata. And here's my little brother, Wolffie." Murata bowed down politely, gesturing to the scowling Wolfram-look-alike beside him, "We came from a faraway country to pay King Yuuri a visit, and we're really grateful that Lady Anissina has kindly let us join in the preparations for your upcoming festival."

"…I see," Conrad gave both boys a speculative look. For a moment, Murata had an absurd fear that the man might have found out about their real identity by the first look. He dismissed the anxiety of being thoroughly scrutinized as Conrad smiled and thanked them for protecting Yuuri.

Looking at the sincerely grateful and sweet smile, Murata thought that he could understand why his ex-master had helplessly fallen for this man.

"Anyway, what are we going to do with this?" Yozak knelt down next to the unconscious masked assassin on the floor, confiscating the sword and taking off the gas mask, blinking for a moment at the revealed face before turning back to Yuuri. "What do you suggest we do, Your Majesty?"

Yuuri bit his lower lip as he stared at his out cold assailant indecisively. If he let the castle guards take the masked man into custody, the would-have-been-assassin would be killed for sure; especially considering how close to success the murder attempt had been. A part of him wanted to forgive and forget, especially because he knew that the poor man had never killed before, but the other part that had listened to the man's story vigilantly also knew that the man's broken heart might never let him get over the past. Instead of escaping his cruel master and looking for a better living, the assassin might very possibly reappear the next night to attempt the same murder to avenge his dead best friend.

After contemplating the choices in vain for a long moment of silence, Yuuri finally turned to Conrad, pleading for help to make his decision.

"…Should we let him go?"

Conrad's eyes were fixated on the bloody hand mark on the boy's neck as he firmly shook his head.

"We can't take the risk of his reappearance next time."

"But---"

"I'm sorry, I might sound selfish." Conrad murmured apologetically as he brushed the young king's hair gently, "But I can't forgive him for doing this to you."

Yuuri looked back at the older half-mazoku with the same apologetic glance before turning his eyes back to the unmoving body of the assassin. "…I understand… but… can you at least make sure that he'll be… safe?"

Conrad took another deep breath before submitting in to a nod. There sure were perils of having an overly affectionate king.

"Yozak, please call the two special guards I have assigned in front of the room to take him."

The redhead nodded once before rising to his feet and did as he had been told.

Yuuri watched forlornly as the two gas-masked guards entered the room and picked the fainted assassin up like the man weighed nothing. Despite Conrad's weak protest regarding his injuries, Yuuri called and asked them to wait just before they left the room. He had a feeling that he wouldn't be allowed to meet the man again after this, and there was still unfinished business between them. It would have been a lot better if the man had been conscious to listen to him, but at least this last conversation might make him feel less… guilty for not being able to help more than what he had done.

"Please… bring him over here. There's something I need to tell him before you take him away."

The two guards looked at each other hesitantly before turning to Conrad for the final decision. After receiving an approving nod, they finally obeyed and turned their captive over.

Yuuri stared at the _boy_ in front of him in shock. Now that he took a closer look, it turned out that this person who had almost ended his life that night didn't look a year older than him. A voice in the back of Yuuri's mind reminded him that it was Shin Makoku, where appearances could be very deceiving. But still, watching the young, peacefully asleep face of the boy who didn't know what kind of punishment waited for him by the time he regained consciousness _hurt_. One wasn't supposed to feel that bitter at such a young age (Shin-Makoku style). Young ones were supposed to have more fun, do more things, try new experiences, find love… which the boy had lost, forever.

Now when he thought about it, maybe he wasn't that different from this assassin. Had Conrad also been killed, he'd probably do the exactly same thing to seek revenge, because with the death of those we loved, life no longer held its preceding meaning. He'd probably disregard his own life and point of view, the way the boy had done. He'd probably break down and throw everything else away, the way the boy had done. He'd probably slash through somebody's body without feeling guilt or hesitation...

"Yuuri..."

Yuuri jolted as he felt the always, always warm hand on his cold cheek, then realized that he was shivering. He was too ashamed to look straight at the man in the eyes, but the warm touch on his chin, which subtly motioned him to look up, was almost impossible to deny.

"Don't risk it," The look in Conrad's face would have turned Yuuri's legs in to jelly, hadn't the young king been leaning against the older man in the first place. As the overall result of this compromising position, his _whole_ body felt like it had been made of jelly now.

"You don't want him to repeat the same mistake again, do you?" Conrad whispered to his ear softly, making the king shiver helplessly at the tickling sensation. He was sure that even the older man himself didn't realize how persuasive he could be. With simple touches and words, Conrad could make him reconsider _everything_; including his preference as Yuuri had proven in person before.

"Please let me take care of this," the older man continued, oblivious to the boy's discomfort and wrapped his arms more securely around the squirming young king instead, "I promise I'll do anything within my power to keep his punishment as light as possible. Will you trust me to handle this, Yuuri?"

Feeling not coherent enough to manage out something other than an incoherent gurgle, Yuuri only nodded in reply and looked down sheepishly, all dark thoughts blown away like a heap of autumn leaves.

"...Can we take him away now?" One of the special guards suddenly spoke up, reminding Yuuri that unlike what he had glimpsed in those romantic _shoujo_ _manga_ his mother read, other people around him didn't just magically vanish and the background didn't turn in to flowers and bubbles just because a star-crossed couple who had just been reunited was relishing each other's presence.

"Yes," Yuuri turned his eyes back to the unconscious assassin, feeling less guilty to let the boy go now after hearing Conrad's promise. "Please take a good care of him."

"Trust us we will." The guard strode forward to pick the boy up again. Yuuri stared intently as the skull-tattooed hand reached for the boy's feet and…

…Wait a minute…

Skull-tattoo… was that…

When Yuuri looked up to confirm his suspicion, he was once more greeted by the rather creepy sight of the gas mask. But now, he could tell for sure that it was the very same guard who had walked along with him and his attacker before. He thought that the man had been knocked unconscious before, but why was he standing here looking fine now? And why hadn't he spoken anything about the incident? If he had woken up earlier, why hadn't he come to his rescue? Had he been too disoriented to remember everything? But why…

Yuuri turned and stared back at the tattoo in morbid fascination, at the dark eyeholes and sinister grin of the skull. "You are…"

The next thing Yuuri remembered after that was Conrad's voice calling for him, then the familiar darkness.

_The Maou…_ Yuuri thought dazedly. He could see his aloof alter ego looking down at him, as he was sinking slowly in his realm of consciousness. He narrowed his eyes, trying to see more clearly, to guess what the king was trying to say, as it felt like both of his ears weren't functioning at all. He could only see the other him's lips moving in a slow motion. It almost looked like the demon king was spelling Conrad's name, but then again, he knew better than relying on his lovesick-clouded judgment.

Then suddenly everything went dark, and he felt warm hand on his cold forehead, caressing his hair in the gentlest manner that could only belong to one person.

"…_I planned to tell you this tomorrow morning… but…"_

He could already smell the sweet scent that could always lull him to sleep at night, and had powerfully dispelled the most frustrating insomnia he had suffered the first night after the murder attempt.

"I've wasted enough time." 

Yuuri felt himself forming a smile in his sleep, relishing the warm comfort and relief the simple touch offered.

"_I don't want to let you wait any longer…"_

When he felt a gush of warm breath near his ear, Yuuri thought that he'd jump awake that instant.

"And I don't want to hold back anymore." 

But he didn't.

"Yuuri, I…" 

And when the three words he had been agitatedly waiting for were finally delivered to him, with the exact affectionate tone he had expected them to come with, Yuuri finally fell asleep, a wide, contented smile still gracing his lips.

"…_Good night. Sleep well. I'll be watching over you."_

Yuuri sighed blissfully. This was exactly how he wanted to fall asleep every night.

XXX

Gwendal walked out of the interrogation room, looking somewhat satisfied with the result yet unmistakably exhausted. It was a good thing Wolfram had offered to take over the job that the more important bits of information had been collected; the witnessing guards and officials had been quite wary of the dark-haired mazoku or the equally grumpy and sleepless 'ambassador' would soon try to kill each other. While it was a bit odd to see the blond being so composed while his older brother wasn't, they were relieved all the same.

"How was it?" Gunter asked as he handed over a big mug of hot chocolate to the inwardly beaming man.

"They have practically confessed everything, including the plan. Apparently one particular lord we all know so well, the stammering teenager's father, thinks that our king's obliviousness towards his… generous shower of gifts means that we're not on the same side anymore and one of us needs to be eliminated." Gwendal's tone softened as he relished the heavenly warmth and sweetness of the liquid. Gunter's chocolate was always the best, although it was mostly due to the fact that he never let anybody else make hot chocolate for him. "As for what to do with them, we'll discuss about it in the morning, with the rest of the committee."

"Hmm…" The silver-haired mazoku nodded slowly, drowsily, "…That was a bad disguise… such an appalling failure…"

Gwendal snorted, having replenished some of his energy, "Young people these days know nothing about history."

"…Definitely have to teach more to His Majesty…" Gunter agreed, yawning again, "So can we finally get some rest tonight?"

"We should call it a night. I haven't been able to sleep well since 'that incident'." Gwendal put down his empty mug and loosened his collar, "Let Wolfram and… speaking of which, where's Conrad? I haven't seen him since we left the basement."

Gunter blinked up at him, feeling more awake in a sudden, "I haven't seen him around either."

"Is that so…" Gwendal frowned as he marched forward to a small window at the end of the corridor and yanked the curtains open. From a distance, Blood Pledge Castle always looked somewhat gloomy at rainy night, but that particular night it looked just… murky. Like a place you should never consider to visit even for a shelter in the middle of a storm, because it was safer outside…

Gwendal shook the dark thoughts off his mind and turned back to the concerned man behind him, "He's probably going back to the castle to assure His Majesty's safety. After all, some of the assassins did get away."

"They _what_?" Gunter bit back a gasp, "You mean…"

"Rest assured, I have secured the whole castle. Not even a rat would be able to get in without being noticed, I'm sure of it." Gwendal explained calmly, "And with Conrad there, the security would be perfect."

"Oh," Gunter breathed out a relieved sigh/yawn, "It's good then."

Gwendal turned back to the glass window, watching grimly as the rain poured down with greater intensity. While he was sure that Conrad had had worse, it still made him cringe inwardly to imagine how it would feel like to ride in such weather. Well, it wasn't like Conrad would have listened to his order to stay until the rain lessened. Despite his gentle look, the half-mazoku could be even more stubborn than Wolfram when a certain king was concerned.

"I wish the rain would stop soon."

Gwendal nodded his agreement and stepped to his side to make room for Gunter, who was currently peering over his shoulder. But instead of claiming the available spot, the silver-haired man rested his chin on the other man's shoulder, earning a growl he had gotten so familiar with.

"Get off. You're heavy." The supposedly gruff complaint was somewhat laced with drowsiness which would have sounded out of character of the supposedly stern mazoku… if it wasn't a little past three in the morning.

"Just... a moment..." Gunter sighed comfortably and leaned even closer, feeling the other man shift slightly under him, "…until the rain… stops…"

"My shoulders would have been stiff by then," Gwendal complained again, but made no move to pull away. He heard another yawn after a moment, evened breaths, and then utter silence.

"…You're lucky you make delicious chocolate…"

XXX

All and all, everything had ended well, so this could count as a happy ending. A very happy ending, in fact, as everyone, including the assassin, had actually left the utterly wrecked office smiling. Well, Murata could pleasantly ignore the two newly discovered assassins, seeing how close they were to depriving him of his ex-master that night. He didn't want to know what would have happened if Yuuri hadn't noticed the tattoo sooner, if Conrad hadn't actually been close enough to block the second fake guard's blow, and if the Maou hadn't suddenly shown up to take over the situation with his unbending definition of justice.

It had been his first time seeing the real thing, and he had to admit that the power the demon king held had made him feel a bit wary. It was a good thing that Yuuri had been the one trusted with such tremendous power. Had it been someone more ambitious and vicious who believed in a more twisted definition of justice… It was another thing the dream fairy was unwilling to consider.

Wolffie had gone to bed a moment before, complaining about how the lack of sleep was going to increase his appetite in the morning (so there had better be special homemade pancakes with thick syrup coating by the time he woke up). Originally, he had also planned on getting to bed right after leaving the room, but when Conrad had abruptly stopped him and had asked him to wait in the office while the half-mazoku would be tucking the king in the bedroom, Murata knew that he wasn't going to get any sleep that night. It sounded tiring, yet interesting. Unlike what Wolffie would have done without giving it a second thought, he wouldn't trade this chance for a good night sleep.

"I'm sorry. Have you waited for long?"

Turning to the half-mazoku cheerfully despite the exhaustion, Murata smiled, "Not at all. Besides, I have a feeling that what you're going to give me is going to be worth my efforts to stay awake."

Conrad nodded slowly as he held out a small handbag to the unblinking fairy, studying the boy's reactions carefully, "…This is yours… isn't it?"

Murata only stared at his missing bag for a moment before looking up and recovering his smile, "What makes you think so?"

"I found it lying on the ground when I went to the town for the festival's campaign," the brunet explained, "…right after two mysterious foreigners knocked a group of scoundrels down with a heap of cotton."

"Oh," Murata's smile never faltered as he rested a hand on his chin and considered the situation. "I suppose you've caught us in a rather… embarrassing situation. And what are you going to do about it? Arresting us for causing a commotion in public?"

Conrad shook his head, "That never crossed my mind. In fact, you have relieved us of some of our burdens by teaching those rascals how to behave themselves. I'll have you know that they have gotten a lot less troublesome after the incident." The half-mazoku paused, contemplating whether or not to continue for a moment. "…As for their phobia for standing under the clouds fearing that it might fall down on them again… it doesn't really bother anyone else, so I guess everything's all right."

Murata chuckled at the amusing mental image, "You know, if I didn't know better, I would have thought that you're actually pleased with my work."

"Indeed, I am." Conrad admitted quickly, which surprised the fairy a bit, "…And I'm here… hoping that you could help me with that… unusual magic power of yours."

"What could it be?" Murata asked neutrally, concealing his curiosity very well.

"That… assassin we've just arrested; not the tattooed one and his partner, I mean… the younger one." At the point, Conrad started to look a bit nervous. Perhaps he himself hadn't been very sure at the first place, but had decided to do it anyway for his beloved king. Murata, more and less, had been able to guess what the request might have been.

"Could you please… help him escape tonight?"

Bingo. Exactly as expected. Tonight would definitely be an interesting one.

"No problem." The fairy flexed his fingers in anticipation, "Sounds fun. But may I ask why haven't you gone to Sir Yozak for help instead?"

Conrad stayed silent for a moment, not sure how to explain how the 'Yozak' he had just met kept making random incoherent images flashing and flickering in his mind, worsening his headache. And even worst, he kept imagining the redhead in pink ballerina outfit, holding a fairy-godmother magic stick while singing him an off-tone lullaby.

_For the love of Shin Maou, please just let me forget_ _**that**_, Conrad shuddered.

Watching the interesting change of shade in Conrad's face, Murata giggled inwardly and dismissed the question.

"Then, I'll be going now. I know we haven't known each other for long, but I assure you that you can count on me." The fairy gestured to the small handbag the half-mazoku was still holding on, "And thank you for retrieving my bag. It's really important to me."

"It's not a problem," Conrad smiled and handed it over, "I don't usually pick things up on the street and take it home with me, but the dolls inside the bag…"

"Look like you and His Majesty?" Murata cut, grinning mischievously.

Conrad looked taken aback for a moment and felt his cheeks warming slightly, "…Yes."

With a hearty laugh, the fairy bowed and excused himself, leaving the bewildered man to stare at his back in confusion.

XXX

"Needing assistance?"

'Yozak-two' was, expectedly standing outside of the room, folding his arms across his chest while leaning against the wall.

Murata turned to him with a wide smile, "That's so kind of you. Maybe you can show me the way to the prison?"

"This way," the redhead turned to one direction and started walking, wearing a similar enthusiastic grin, "finally, some action for the stars."

"Just try not to lead us to any of those felon-detectors. Otherwise we'll end up diving head-first in to the pool like those two assassins."

"Women _are_ scary. Does he remember, anyway?"

"It doesn't seem so. He thinks I'm just a traveler from a very far place who possesses odd magic."

"Odd? Well, after the fairy-floss trick you pulled before, I have to agree."

"I'm against violence."

"…Okay." _…But he definitely is not against mental-violence._

"By the way, your wings are visible."

"Oops…"

XXX

The sun had risen and was about to set again when Yuuri finally stirred awake from his deep, satisfyingly content sleep. The memories from last night were blurry and felt like a dream, at least until he felt the sting of pain on various parts of his body when he tried to sit up. After a moment of painful struggle, he finally managed to get his back off the bed. Just as he turned to resettle his pillow for a more comfortable sitting position, he heard someone entering his room, followed by the dull thudding noise of something hitting the carpet. Less than a moment later, Conrad was by his side, taking over the task for him and making sure that he was comfortable in his new position.

Yuuri sighed in bliss, oblivious of his the drinking water that was saturating his brand new carpet.

"Are you feeling okay?" Conrad only threw the rolling empty glass a brief guilty look before turning his attention back to his king, "You shouldn't be getting up yet if you're not feeling well."

"Nah, I'm okay now. A lot better than yesterday, at least." Yuuri reassured him, dark eyes twinkled cheerfully in spite of his bruised body, "How about you? You aren't injured or anything, are you? Somehow I can't remember how I got to bed last night…"

Yuuri relaxed as Conrad placed his pleasantly warm hand on his shoulder and started stroking the sore muscles under his pajama top soothingly.

"Well… I'm not surprised if you don't remember anything…" The older man explained carefully, "Because the Maou showed up again last night."

"The… Maou?" Yuuri blinked in shock, "Did he---I… do… something… extreme again?"

Conrad shook his head, resuming his tender caress on the boy's slightly tensing muscles, "He only did what he needed to. And it all ended well. Everything will be okay from now on. You don't have to worry about a thing."

Yuuri only stared at his lap blankly. His brain felt like it was working very slowly to process the information and generate a reaction. Conrad's gentle touch on his shoulder was the only thing he wanted to savor at the moment, period.

"I see…" He muttered softly, before turning to the man's concerned eyes with a weak laugh, "Don't worry. I'm just a bit… drowsy. I just don't think I can think about complicated things at this moment. My brain has never been my strong point to begin with, after all…"

Conrad smiled and nodded understandingly, shifting his caressing palm up to the king's warming cheek and _stared_, in a way that even Yuuri's lethargic brain couldn't ignore.

"Is something wrong?" Yuuri blushed, feeling extremely vulnerable under the intent gaze. He wasn't usually very aware of his appearance near Conrad, but to get stared at right after waking up… he couldn't help worrying if the image he was presenting the man wasn't decent enough.

"Nothing's wrong with you. Nothing at all." Conrad whispered his reply softly, his thumb moving slowly to brush the smooth skin under it, never turning his eyes away.

"Listen, Yuuri… there's something… I need to ask you now."

The king nodded dazedly, helplessly captivated by the determination and affection in the older man's eyes.

"You do know that this isn't going to be an easy road for us, don't you?"

Realizing how important this question was to Conrad, Yuuri forced his dry throat to cooperate and muttered out a soft, yet steady 'yes'.

"Right now, you're Wolfram's official fiancé. People around us might not be ready for… this. It might greatly affect your reputation as a king. Are you also okay with that?"

Yuuri took a deep breath and replied with another unshakeable 'yes', looking a lot calmer.

"Also… are you really sure about… having me?" Now it was Conrad's turn to fidget under the king's intense eyes, as he braced himself to continue, "So far I have always been trying to show you the good things only. You might find the real me… disappointing. Are you willing to take the risk?"

Then there was a long pause, which even the battle-hardened Conrad found extremely unnerving. A part of him knew that it was for the best to let Yuuri think it over carefully before making his decision. The boy wasn't even the legal age yet and like other ordinary teenagers, he might not know what he wanted. But even with this sensible rationalizing, there was a rebellious part of his mind that labeled this action as extremely foolish; the part which kept screaming at him to just ignore everything else and accept this favorable fact that Yuuri _loved_ him; the part that had definitely read Anissina's script too many times.

"Okay," Conrad resigned to his fate as Yuuri's uninjured hand moved up to cover his up, before lowering it slowly on to his lap; the king's look of total concentration (despite his somnolent brain) suddenly broke in to an enigmatic smile, "But before I answer that, can I tell you something?"

The older half-mazoku nodded quickly, finding the wait excruciatingly taxing. Yuuri had to be real tough to have managed to bear this feeling while waiting for him before.

"You once said that you wouldn't hesitate to die protecting me," the boy started while absently stroking the hand he had been holding with the same tenderness it had provided him before, "I only want to let you know that I would do the same thing regarding your safety."

Conrad widened in eyes in shock and inadvertently raised his voice, "No, you can't!"

"Yes, I can," the king replied calmly, "In fact, maybe I can't help it, because I care about you. Because I don't want to lose you. Because it comes naturally as I adjust to the fact that I _love_ you. That's how you feel too, right?"

Conrad was momentarily rendered speechless. While he had been pondering all night long how to carry this conversation on, he definitely was not prepared for a direct love declaration from the uncharacteristically self-possessed king.

"Now you know how selfish it is?" Yuuri's smile returned, his expression unreadable, "That's why…"

Conrad found himself struggling to breathe as the raven-haired demon king brought his hand up and pressed the back of his fingers against his soft lips, never once losing the eye contact.

"Let's make a promise, to not put ourselves in danger, so we won't be forced to take that course of action that will hurt the other. Will you renew your promise with that one?"

The situation was somewhat unfair, because Conrad didn't think that anyone in his current place would actually be able to say 'no'. But he nodded and felt like a winner anyway as he felt Yuuri's smile widen under his fingers.

"Great," the boy remarked cheerfully as he lowered the older man's hand and held it tightly in his healthy hand, "You are always careful and that makes you a reliable person. It's one of the traits I like about you."

Conrad looked down from the king's bright face to their intertwined fingers, but the gesture somewhat intensified his already flaring embarrassment. Despite his great achievement, Conrad could never get used to praises, especially the sincere ones that came from his loved ones.

"There are a lot of things I don't know about you yet, and I know things aren't going to go as well as we both hope between the two of us," Yuuri continued smoothly, relieved that the most pressuring part of their conversation had been over. All the nervousness had been gone, replaced by blinding delight. He had been waiting for this moment for a long time. "But as long as we confide in each other, I believe that we can overcome anythign. Let's just stay together and we'll work it out. Is it okay for you?"

Yuuri decided that it was another sensation of déja-vu when Conrad looked up at him with _that _delightful expression and nodded again, before pulling him in to a warm embrace. The moment felt _so_ perfect that he immediately gave up on trying to recall the continuation of the scene in his dream. This was enough. This was more than enough.

"Do you have anymore questions?" Even in his blissful state, Yuuri just had to tease, as he found Conrad's insecurity and questions very cute. And here he was, thinking that the man had nothing to feel unconfident about.

"…No." Conrad leaned closer; still feeling a little lightheaded from the almost overwhelming happiness, "Let's just… stay together."

It was another thing Yuuri didn't need to think over before agreeing.

They stayed in that position for a long time… until Conrad very belatedly realized that he had left the door conveniently open for accumulating spectators and found himself once again caught red-handed with his arms full of the king of the nation.

"Mom," whined a child from the front row, "Can I open my eyes yet?"

XXX

(Not really) THE END

Next chapter: Epilogue (Romeo and Juliet ConYuu version) and intro to the next sequel (Mine X 3).


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